


The Lost Princess

by lazypadawan



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: 1920s, Alternate Universe - Historical, Amnesia, Angst with a Happy Ending, Aristocracy, Eventual Smut, F/M, Flashes of Kylo Ren, Historical Inaccuracy, Historical References, Honeymoon, London, NOT based on the 1997 film Anastasia or the Broadway show, Romanov impostor, Slow Build, Soft Ben Solo, reylo au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:55:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 22,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25834591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazypadawan/pseuds/lazypadawan
Summary: London 1921:  a young woman is found on the street, beaten and robbed.  She can only remember her name but nothing else.  Dr. Snoke, a mesmerist, takes in Rey DeNiima.  They announce to the world she has not only recovered her memory but is none other than Anastasia Nikolaevna, last princess of Imperial Russia who had miraculously escaped the Bolsheviks.  Not everyone believes her but she soon meets Duke Benjamin Solovich, a man who had been betrothed to Anastasia.  She doesn't remember him and he'd only seen one picture of the princess.  But they are instantly attracted to one another.  Meanwhile two reporters are determined to prove Rey is a fake.  And what is Dr. Snoke's agenda?
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 93
Kudos: 111





	1. London 1921

**Author's Note:**

> I had the idea for this story several months ago after saying to myself post-TROS "I can't believe they made Rey a Romanov imposter." Then the plot bunny hit me, heh heh! This is VERY loosely inspired by the story of Anna Anderson (née Franziska Schanzkowska), probably the best-known Anastasia impostor. She was one of many people throughout the 20th century to claim they were the surviving children of Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra. The fates of those children were a mystery for 73 years because the Romanov family remains weren't found until 1991.

The young man whistled to himself, his booted feet echoing on the cobblestones, horse-drawn carts, bicycles, and motorcars rumbling past him.It was an evening like any other:dark, chilly, and rainy. 

It had been a long day at work.Finn was looking forward to tea then later on a quiet meal and resting by the fire. 

He saw a figure slumped on the sidewalk near a bridge.At first he thought it was a drunkard passed out from too much gin but upon closer inspection, it was an unconscious young woman, her face bruised.Scattered around her were a few possessions:an empty handbag, a soiled handkerchief, and identification papers getting wet on the pavement.Finn quickly glanced at the papers:they named a Rey De Niima but the rest of the forms was blank.

He bent over the woman, trying to revive her by gently shaking her.“Come on, Rey or whatever your name is,” Finn begged her.“Please wake up.” 

The young woman’s eyes fluttered open.A moan escaped her lips.

“Are you all right, Miss?”Finn asked.

“Ohhh my head,”the woman groaned.

“It looks like you’ve had a rough time of it.What happened?”

The woman looked up at him in utter confusion.“I…I don’t know…I can’t remember.”

“There are papers over there mentioning a Rey DeNiima.Is that you?”

“Yes but…I can’t recall where I was going or what I was doing.It’s all a big blank.”She tried to move and winced.“Everything hurts all over.”

“Hold on, Miss.I’ve got to get you some help,” Finn cautioned.“Help!” he called out to passerby.“We need assistance!A lady is hurt!”

***

Rey fretfully paced the damp flagstones.She was in the hospital garden—a small paved yard—dressed in her hospital gown.The chilly air barely registered to her.Physically she felt much better than the night she was brought in.She had recovered from the bump on her head.The bruises on her body were fading.But she could still not remember anything that had happened to her before that evening.Her entire life besides her name eluded her. 

Dr. Unkar Plutt told her it was amnesia.Sometimes amnesia lasted a few hours, days, or weeks.Maybe months.Maybe years.

The constable who had interviewed Rey believed she’d been robbed and beaten.Because she had no money, Dr. Plutt made it clear he was not going to keep her there long.“This is not a charity hospital,” he’d huffed.

Rey had been a patient six days now and if her memory didn’t return by tomorrow, she was going to be sent to a lunatic asylum.The prospect of such a place terrified her.A citadel of madness, full of patients wandering around aimlessly, screaming in cells, cold water baths, even having part of their brains cut out.No!Such could not be her fate!But what could she do?Rey paced about, running her hands through her chin-length curly hair.

“Miss DeNiima!”boomed a familiar voice, breaking Rey’s ruminations.She turned to see Nurse Maz, a very short wizened woman with massive spectacles and an always pristine white uniform.“What are you doing out here without a coat?You’ll catch your death!”

“Sorry, Nurse.I just came out here to think,” Rey said, letting the diminutive nurse usher her back inside the hospital. 

“Someone is here to see you,” Maz said.“He is waiting for you in your room.”

Rey frowned, wondering who the devil would come to see her.Was it that young man Finn who’d found her on the street?He’d been by to visit a few days ago, just to make sure she was all right.But when she entered her room, she saw Dr. Plutt with a tall pasty man in a dark coat and a cap over his bald head.The man was gaunt with piercing blue eyes and thin lips.He was not young but not elderly either.Rey took a step back at his powerful gaze.

“Miss DeNiima,” Dr. Plutt said, “meet Dr. Faustus Snoke.”

“At your service, Miss DeNiima,” Dr. Snoke said, removing his cap and bowing slightly.Rey could see curious scars on Dr. Snoke’s scalp.

“Dr. Snoke read about your plight in the papers and proposed an alternative means to work at regaining your memory,” Dr. Plutt said.

“I am a master of hypnotism,” Dr. Snoke said.“I can use the science of hypnosis to restore your memory while staying as a guest at my home.”

Rey gasped.Someone who could help her regain her past and give her a place to go!What luck!“I am speechless.I can’t thank you enough.How could I ever repay you?”she stammered, trying not to smile.

“Not to worry,” Dr. Snoke said.“We will come to an arrangement later.”Then he turned to Dr. Plutt.“If Miss DeNiima is inclined, I would like to bring her back to my home right now.”

“Of course, Dr. Snoke, so long as Miss DeNiima is willing.”

“Yes, of course,” Rey said.“Allow me a moment to collect my things and change.”

In less than an hour, Rey was saying goodbye to the kindly Nurse Maz on the front steps of the hospital, wearing the clothes she’d been found in that Maz had mended and laundered for her, her near-empty bag in her hands.An elegant black car pulled up in front of the hospital and Dr. Snoke walked over to it, then opened the door to the passenger side.“After you,” he said.

Rey and the mysterious doctor drove off.She would miss Maz but she was relieved to leave the hospital behind and she deeply hoped this man could fit the missing puzzle pieces back in her life.


	2. The Grand Duchess Lives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After months in Dr. Snoke's care, Rey DeNiima makes an astonishing announcement to the world.

“Allow me to introduce my patient, Miss Rey DeNiima,” Dr. Snoke announced to the gathered audience. Rey, standing next to the doctor hypnotist on a stage, turned to flashing lightbulbs shining through a fog of cigarette smoke. 

Her hair was freshly waved and she wore a new white lace dress, a single string of pearls around her throat. She wrung her hands nervously. She didn’t know what set her on edge more, standing in an auditorium full of strangers staring at her, or wondering how that crowd of strangers was going to react to what she was about to tell them.

“Miss DeNiima was found five months ago on the streets of London, her belongings stolen but for her bag andk her identification papers. She had been beaten so badly she lost her memory.”

The audience of reporters murmured among themselves.

“She was close to admission to a lunatic asylum but alas, I found her in time. I read her tragic tale in the newspaper and decided that I could use my expertise in hypnosis to restore her lost memory. And what we discovered during our sessions was shocking!

“She could recall for me, entirely in Russian, a life of privilege in a palace, servants attending to her every need, and adorned in gold, gems, and furs. Then tragedy…her family was murdered before her. She too was meant to die but the bullets bounced off of jewels sewn within her gown. She attempted to feign her death but the peasants sent to claim the bodies found her breathing and decided to spare her life. In exchange for the heirlooms she possessed, the peasants helped her flee Mother Russia for England, where she had taken a new identity to live a new life.”

The reporters murmured louder.

“Yes, gentlemen,” Dr. Snoke said, raising his voice. “Come forth, Miss DeNiima and tell us who you really are.”

Rey stepped forward and spoke, her voice echoing off the stage with more confidence than she truly felt. “I am Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, the last princess of Imperial Russia.” She repeated this pronouncement in Russian, the words tumbling off her lips as though she had spoken this tongue her entire life. The reporters gasped and many more bulbs flashed, blinding her.

“It is true,” she said. “Dr. Snoke helped me peel back the veil obscuring my past. And I saw it all. The life I had led, my family’s deaths at the hands of the Bolsheviks, the kindly peasants who saved me, my escape into exile. My home is gone, my family is gone but I hope to make a new life here until the day comes when I can reclaim my homeland.”

Reporters started shouting questions at her.

“Are you going by Rey still or by Anastasia?”

“What will you do, Grand Duchess?”

“Do you have any of your fortune with you?”

“Will you support the forces fighting Lenin, Your Highness?”

Rey wrinkled her brow with confusion. “I…” she fumbled for words, looking to Snoke beside her. Blessedly, the hypnotist quickly took control of the situation.

“There will be no questions today,” he said, waving his hands. “At a future time there will be an exclusive interview with a newspaper or magazine of our choosing.” Dr. Snoke’s assistant Mr. Mitaka escorted Rey off the stage, but she could still feel all eyes on her.

***

“What a load of nonsense,” sniffed the red-haired reporter to the shorter, dark-haired man sitting next to him. “I can’t believe I wasted my time on this!” He rose to his feet, putting on his dark coat.

“So you don’t think she’s really Princess Anastasia, do you?” the man, an American judging by his accent, responded with a sardonic laugh.

“No,” the reporter frowned. “There are already a few lunatic women claiming to be Maria or Olga Romanov. I’m sure the Romanovs are all dead. This just another pretender.”

“Have to give her points though for speaking fluent Russian,” the American said. “Pretty too.”

Armitage Hux rolled his eyes. 

“Crazy stuff like this though sells papers,” the man continued. “Which is why I got stuck with this assignment.”

“Which paper are you with?”

“The New York Sun. My name’s Poe Dameron. London correspondent.”

“Armitage Hux, the Daily Standard.” The men shook hands.

“Maybe the real story here is Dr. Snoke putting up an impostor,” Poe mused as he and Hux followed the other reporters out of the small auditorium. “Where’d he find this girl? What’s his agenda?”

“Hmm, now that would be an interesting twist. Perhaps this could be discussed over at the pub across the road.”

“Lead the way,” Poe said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just about every claim to being a long-lost Romanov was met with skepticism though some were believed. A couple of the more famous "Anastasias" got a ton of publicity over the years. They were still debating whether Anna Anderson was the real deal even when I was a kid in the 1970s (Anderson passed away in 1984).
> 
> Up next: Rey meets a tall, dark handsome man.


	3. Soiree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A distant cousin of Anastasia invites Rey to a party, where she meets a tall, dark, handsome man.

Rey sauntered through the crowd of people in beautiful silks and tuxedos, sipping champagne.She was clad in a glamorous but still modest black gown, her lips ruby red.

She felt all eyes on her as she moved about the room.All she had ever been since the day Dr. Snoke announced to the world her true identity was stared at.This alone would’ve been difficult enough to handle.But now she also had to mourn the family she had lost, the country that was gone.She could still see flashes of her mother’s face, her beloved sisters and brother, poor Papa.It was all so much and she truly did need time to process it all. 

While Dr. Snoke was generous with his time and made sure she lacked for nothing—he was quite rich—he couldn’t help resist showing her off throughout London.The photographers were everywhere.The papers couldn’t stop talking about the beautiful, eligible princess.Others publicized skeptics, including members of her own long-lost family.She wanted to ask Dr. Snoke for some private time away from the publicity, but she also didn’t want to seem ungrateful.So when an expatriated Russian noblewoman asked her to be a guest at this party in her spacious townhome in Belgravia, she had to attend with Dr. Snoke.He was now at the back of the room, discussing hypnosis with some guests.

“There you are!”It was the noblewoman who invited Rey, Duchess Holdova.The older flaxen-haired woman wore a lavender gown and matching gloves, a long string of pearls around her neck.“Come, there’s someone I want you to meet.”She put a firm arm around Rey’s shoulders and led her into the library, where a tall man stood looking at the window, a cigarette looking tiny and insignificant in his massive hand.

“Benjamin,” Duchess Holdova called out, “it’s her!Your Nastya!”

The man turned around.He wore a dark suit, no doubt tailored on Savile Row.His longish thick black hair was slicked back in a failed attempt to tame it.He had piercing whiskey brown eyes, a long aquiline nose, and plush lips.He extinguished his cigarette in an ash tray and moved toward Rey, his mouth and eyes wide open with astonishment.

“My darling,” he said, gently taking Rey’s black gloved hand and pressing it to his lips, his eyes locked on hers.Rey’s pulse quickened and she suddenly realized her cheeks were hot and she was breathing through her mouth.

“I’m sorry,” Rey finally stammered, unable to take her eyes off this Benjamin.“I still have some holes in my memory…”

“Oh forgive me,” Benjamin said with a sincere bow.“I was overeager to see you.I am Duke Benjamin Solovich.I am or was…your betrothed.”

Rey’s mouth dropped open in an “O.”“I do not remember being engaged…”

Duchess Holdova took over.“Oh, of course not Nastya.Your mother and I decided with your father that my godson should be your husband when you come of age.His parents were Princess Leia and General Han Solovich of Moldavia.”

Rey’s eyes went back to the tall man, looking at her as though he were trying to pierce her thoughts.“I’m sorry, I don’t recall them,” she said, shaking her head.

“You never met them,” he said, in a deliciously deep accented voice.“You and I have never met.I’ve only seen one picture of you taken when you were fourteen or fifteen years old.We were going to meet after you turned eighteen.”

“Before the revolution,” Rey said. 

“Yes,” Benjamin said. “Before evil took over our land.Like you, I lost my family at their hands.I was finishing my post-graduate studies at Oxford when it happened.I haven’t been home in many years.”

“I’m sorry,” Rey said softly, placing her hand on Benjamin’s forearm.His body heat rushed through her.

“Thank you,” he said, placing that large hand of his over hers.Electricity shot through every cell in her body.She realized she stopped breathing and his intense stare held hers.

“Well, perhaps I should leave you two to catch up,” Duchess Holdova said, a pleased tone in her voice.

“Perhaps Nastya would like a stroll out in the garden,” Benjamin said.

Rey smiled and said, “I would.”

“Wonderful!”Duchess Holdova said, beaming and clasping her hands.“I’ll lead the way.”Benjamin held out his arm and Rey held onto it.If this man had been chosen to be her husband, her sainted parents chose well. 

At the door to the garden, Duchess Holdova whispered in Rey’s ear, “You’re old enough to go without a chaperone so don’t worry about me.”

“Thank you…Cousin,” Rey said, repeating it in Russian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't miss an update! Subscribe!
> 
> Comments always appreciated!
> 
> Next chapter: Getting to know the fiancé you just met.


	4. Benjamin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey gets to know her erstwhile fiancé better.

It was a cool moonlit night. For once it wasn’t drizzling or foggy. Rey was relieved to get out of the hot, crowded, noisy rooms. Her companion wasn’t anything to complain about either.

Of course she did not know much about him. He might be cruel or distant. He might have terrible vices. But he was very attractive. Tall, broad-shouldered and broad-chested, manly. He even smelled good, a blend of spices, woods, and tobacco.

“I know this must all be a shock to you,” Benjamin said. “And now that we are out of my godmother’s earshot, I can tell you that you are under no obligation to marry me. The world we lived in just a few years ago is gone. Perhaps it is gone forever.”

“Do you think the Bolsheviks will take power?” 

“I don’t know. But the old ways are coming to an end. People want democracy or at least they want someone else besides an aristocrat or king to have control over their lives. The last war shook a lot of people’s faith in the institutions they once trusted. The world’s order has changed.”

Rey nodded. 

“I have lived here now many years. Every day I feel less Russian, more English. Perhaps one day I will go to America and in few years, I will turn into a cowboy.” He smiled at her and she laughed.

“What are you doing now in London?” she asked.

“I am managing my parents’ holdings. Thankfully my mother had the foresight to invest outside of Russia. My education though has been in political science. Teaching, writing, and lecturing might be something I could do in the future.”

“That sounds wonderful. I would love to travel and see the world. Once everything settles down again.”

“My godmother was very excited to read about you in the press,” Benjamin said. “She had only met you once as a little girl but she was completely convinced you are the Grand Duchess restored to us. Tell me, how did Dr. Snoke find your memories?”

Rey bit her lip. “We had sessions three or four hours a day, five days a week in his study. He would put me under hypnosis and he would guide me through it, searching for my memories because I could not remember a thing before a man found me on the street,” she said. “At first, I didn’t think it was going to work. I’d go back to my rooms frustrated. Then one afternoon came the breakthrough.

“First, I remembered my native tongue and I started speaking to Dr. Snoke in Russian. I wasn’t aware I knew Russian at all! Then I saw glimpses of my life back in the palace in St. Petersburg. I saw the faces of my parents, my sisters, my dear brother, my beloved servants. I remembered the place where we were kept prisoner in Yekaterinburg. I remember the blood on the floor, the screams.” Rey’s eyes watered and she sighed. 

“It is truly a miracle you survived, thanks to God,” Benjamin said gently.

“Yes, thanks to Him,” Rey said, wiping back her tears. “But I remember the kindness of those who helped me flee to England. There are still many things that are hazy and years I don’t remember at all. Flashes of things come to me suddenly when I’m awake or during a session with Dr. Snoke, while others come to me in dreams.”

“You know, Nastya, if that is not too familiar, I am sure you will eventually remember everything. You seem very clever and quick-witted.”

Rey was grateful that in the dark, Benjamin couldn’t see her blush. “Thank you,” she stammered.

“Or perhaps I can call you Rey if you like,” Benjamin shrugged. “It makes no difference to me. Whatever makes you feel more comfortable.”

“You’re very kind,” Rey said. “Rey is fine. At least until I get used to being Anastasia again.”

“I can call you both,” Benjamin said. “How about that?”

Rey laughed. “Benjamin…”

“Just Ben is all right.” He looked right into her eyes. Rey’s knees buckled. She was irrationally attracted to this man, a man she had just met. The insane thing is, she could tell he was attracted to her to as well. “Don’t be afraid, I feel it too,” he whispered.

They continued to stroll around the garden, Rey becoming aware she’d moved her body closer to his. “I live in a house in Mayfair,” he said. “Are you still staying with that Dr. Snoke?”

“Yes. It’s in Bloomsbury,” she said. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be there but for now it’s home.”

“Hmm. What do you do when he’s not hypnotizing you?”

“I help organize his library,” Rey said.

“Do you do anything else?”

“Not really, besides doing appearances to talk about my experience.”

“Not even to church?”

“No.”

Ben’s eyes went wide in the moonlight. “Perhaps it’s because Dr. Snoke is not Russian, but the holy church is important to us. Will you come with me then this Sunday?”

“Da, I would love to.” 

Just then, Rey heard Dr. Snoke calling from the house. “Your Highness! It is time to depart.”

“I’ll get your address from my godmother,” Ben said, escorting Rey back to the party. 

Her head was spinning from the champagne, the party, and now finding this husband-to-be or…was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a head's up, our leading man is more Ben Solo in this story than Kylo Ren. Basically a good boy. But you might see a flash of Kylo once or twice, heh heh.
> 
> IRL it's not known if the Romanovs started lining up potential suitors for their youngest daughter but there was lots of speculation about who would marry Olga, the oldest daughter, who had her pick of many young men of Europe's royal houses but preferred a Russian husband. Unfortunately Olga did not live long enough to choose anyone.
> 
> Next chapter: Sunday in the park with Ben. Hit that subscribe button and don't miss an update! Comments always welcome!


	5. Sunday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if this is the first Reylo story where on their first date, they go to church but here it is...

“No!No! Oh God no!”

Rey jerked awake in her bed, her legs tangled in the sheets, a sheen of sweat on her skin.Her heart pounded.She panted and ran a hand through her sleep-mussed hair.The loud pops of gunfire and the taste of blood in her mouth faded along with memories of the nightmare, like a receding tide.

The early gray light of dawn peered through cracks between the bedroom drapes.Rey took a deep breath and remembered that Ben was coming to take her to church at ten.

By the time Miss Phasma—Dr. Snoke’s very tall and imposing housekeeper—appeared in her room, Rey was finishing putting on her white gloves.“Benjamin Solovich is waiting for you downstairs,” Phasma said, her face as stern as ever.

“Thank you Miss Phasma.Please tell Dr. Snoke I will be home this afternoon, likely before tea.”

“Of course…Your Highness.”Did Rey detect a bit of sarcasm in Phasma’s tone?She decided not to pay it any mind.She took one last look at herself in the bedroom mirror.She wore a stylish but modest blush-rose gown and the gold Orthodox cross Duchess Holdova had gifted her with that week.Her hair was in clean, neat curls.Taking a deep breath to calm the butterflies in her stomach, she picked up the needlework handbag of roses on the bureau and headed out of the room.She stepped onto the landing where she could see Ben—dressed in a gray morning suit—standing at the bottom of the stairs.

Rey beamed and bounded down the staircase, Ben smiling warmly back at her.Just as she reached the bottom stair, Dr. Snoke swept in from seemingly nowhere, practically standing between her and Ben.

“Ah, Duke Solovich, so good to see you again,” Dr. Snoke said. 

“Dr. Snoke, a privilege,” Ben replied politely.They’d met very briefly at Duchess Holdova’s party, after he and Rey had walked in the garden. 

“You’ll be pleased to know Her Highness has made more progress this week,” Dr. Snoke said.“Tell them what else you remember, dear.”

“I remembered I got my hair cut like this soon after I arrived in London to fit in more with the fashionable young ladies,” Rey shrugged with a sheepish smile.

“I do not mind the shorter hair,” Ben said.“It is not scandalous to me.I think it looks very pleasing on you.”

“Thank you,” Rey said, feeling warmth in her cheeks. 

“We must be on our way before the service starts,” Ben said.

“Oh don’t let me keep you then,” Dr. Snoke said.“I’ll see you when you return, Rey.”

Ben led Rey out into the summer morning where it was miraculously warm enough to not need a coat.He escorted her to a waiting black car where he opened the back door and helped her inside before entering from the other side.

“Rey, this is my driver Chewie.”He indicated the large hairy man barely fitting behind the wheel.“He is a Cossack, once a warrior for the Czar, now he drives me around town.”

“Dobroe utro,” Rey said.“Good morning.”The Cossack grunted back but he seemed friendly enough.

The Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God was on Buckingham Palace Road.Before Rey got out of the car, she removed a veil from her handbag and secured it over her head so that it covered her hair.She walked with Ben into the church.While there were not very many people, all eyes turned to her as Ben led her into a pew.Chewie took the pew behind them. 

“My godmother goes to the very early service,” Ben whispered.“So it will be just us today.”He patted her knee reassuringly.The way his hand lingered on her leg and how it felt to her was decidedly improper for the setting.“Lord forgive me,” she thought.

Then she noticed others in the church looking at her with a mix of curiosity, wonder, and skepticism.So they too had heard or read about her story.Rey kept her head down as though in prayer but she also wanted to avoid the stares of the other congregants.She didn’t think she would ever get used to it.

The service started in a haze of heavy incense smoke. The priest led prayers in Russian that Rey had not heard in so long and soon its words welled forth from her memory.As did the songs.Occasionally, Rey’s vision wandered up to the beautiful icons surrounding the church.It felt like a memory from the distant past, one that had been repressed.She found herself sharing a prayer book with Ben, listening to his baritone answers to the priest and his singing.

After the service ended, Rey and Ben got back in the car.“Will you join me for luncheon?”he asked.

“Da, of course,” Rey said, as though she would ever turn down any more time with Ben.

The restaurant they went to was small and specialized in dishes from eastern Europe.They feasted upon caviar, smoked salmon, dumplings, lamb and vegetables, and blinis and washed it down with shots of vodka.The alcohol burned as it trickled down Rey’s throat into her stomach “Oof,” she said, putting down her shot glass.

“Sorry, I guess you do not have as much experience drinking vodka,”Ben said. 

“It’s all right,” Rey replied.“I’ll just have to get myself used to it.”To Ben’s amusement, she quickly poured and downed another shot.

Lunch ended and Ben led Rey into the park across the street from the small restaurant for a stroll.They came across a pond where there were rowboats for hire.For a while they stood and watched others row across the pond.“This looks like fun,” Rey said.She grinned mischievously.“Let’s try it, shall we?”

Ben shrugged.“Why not?I have to warn you though, I did not make the rowing team at Oxford.” The next thing Rey knew, she was getting on one end of the rowboat while Ben held her hand to help steady her.Then he removed his jacket and neatly folded it on one of the empty benches.This left Ben in white shirt sleeves.He worked the oars, propelling the boat out into the middle of the pond.Rey couldn’t help but stare at his impressive triceps and biceps as he rowed. Swans and ducks swam around the boat as it made its way into a private spot shaded with trees.There Ben stopped rowing.

“Perhaps the vodka is giving me too much courage but I have to say that, if you’ll forgive me, you are even more beautiful in person than you were in that long ago photograph,” he said.

“And you are far more handsome and kinder than I’d ever expect from a man pre-arranged for me,” Rey said.

“Would you like to keep coming with me to church every Sunday then?”he asked.

“I would…Ben.”

The blue skies—so rare in London even in summer—remained so until Ben’s car pulled up in front of Dr. Snoke’s house.Gray clouds obscured the sun as he walked Rey up the front steps and Miss Phasma opened the front door.“I’ll ring you this week,” Ben promised, gently touching his hand for just a moment to Rey’s.

“I look forward to it,” she said.Rey glanced over her shoulder at Ben getting back in his car before the darkness inside Snoke’s home absorbed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be sure to subscribe and not miss a chapter!


	6. Picnic In The Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A languid afternoon in the park and some interesting news for Hux.

Ben and Rey stretched out side by side on the picnic blanket. They sat atop a small green hill in the park beneath the shade of an oak tree, quietly watching passerby below. He casually smoked a cigarette while she finished sipping her wine.

“We’re blessed again with lovely weather,” Rey said, straightening out her yellow floral dress.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen the sun this much in London,” Ben said, looking handsome in his v-neck sweater and pants. He crushed out the cigarette on the ground next to him.

For the past several weeks, Rey and Ben had made a ritual out of attending church together on Sundays, followed by luncheon. Sometimes Duchess Holdova joined them but usually it was just the two of them. They’d stroll through the park and perhaps go for another ride on the rowboat. If it was rainy, they would retreat into Ben’s stately home in Mayfair or even see a moving pictures show. 

One thing Rey learned was she loved movies, laughing along the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd, crying with the Gish sisters and Mary Pickford, and swooning over the exotic Rudolph Valentino. “Remember you are engaged,” Ben would tease.

“I’ll forget then how you were looking at Theda Bara,” Rey would tease back.

Rey’d met Ben’s fussy butler Threepio and valet Artoo, a short ornery but clever man. His housekeeper and private secretary Rose was a student from the far East, a cheery and delightful young woman, about as far as one could get from Miss Phasma. Rey’d seen the oil portrait paintings of Ben’s parents, the late princess and general. She could see Ben had inherited his father’s long handsome face and his mother’s warm intelligent eyes.

Over time, Ben had invited Rey on other outings throughout the week and each time, the sparks were difficult to ignore. Every time he looked at her she melted inside. Even the slightest touch electrified her whole body. She wasn’t sure if she, a grand duchess, was supposed to have such feelings. These moments of joy and wonderment made her feel guilty sometimes though Ben had told her many times the best way to honor her family was to live her life.

She treasured though the privacy Ben offered her. A chance to be out of the spotlight, away from the judging eyes of strangers. If Dr. Snoke wasn’t bringing her to lecture halls or theaters, she was talking to a skeptical reporter. She was aware not everyone believed her and the doctor. While those at the church were used to seeing her there now and stopped looking at her, there were accusing stares on the street. If anyone had tried to convince Ben she was not Anastasia, he had yet to tell her. She knew Duchess Holdova believed her completely.

Strangely enough, Dr. Snoke did not disapprove of her outings with Ben. If anything, he seemed somewhat delighted.

The sense of safety she felt with Ben also brought out her more lively side. When they came to the picnic earlier, she’d shouted, “I’ll race you!” for the spot. She’d gathered up her skirt and ran, Ben running after her with the basket in his hand. She was no match for his long strides and he beat her handily. He’d declined to join her climbing the tree that sheltered them.

“Nastya. Rey,” Ben said, taking her hand and squeezing it. Her heart fluttered. Was Ben about to kiss her at last? She moved her body closer to him and they leaned into each other, her head resting on his shoulder. He made no further move toward romance. Not a kiss yet but it was something. Oh, this man was a tease. Looking at her with those eyes full of promise but keeping her guessing when the moment would come.

After what seemed to be hours later, a shadow dimmed the sunlight, causing the both of them to look up at the sky. Gray clouds were closing in. “We better go before it rains,” Ben said, his voice rumbling through Rey’s body. The pair rose to their feet and scrambled to pick up the remains of the picnic and the blanket, stuffing everything into the huge basket. They left the shelter of the oak tree and hurried down the grassy hill to the path. They reached the pathway just as Rey could smell deep earth. Fat drops splatted on the path.

“Hurry!” Rey said. Neither she nor Ben had an umbrella. But chilly heavy rain started to fall, quickly soaking the park. Instead of trying to hurry to Ben’s house, they made a run for another stand of trees, Ben gripping her hand. Rey struggled to not fall in her heeled shoes as they plodded through the soggy ground. 

At last they reached the trees. They leaned against the thick trunk of the largest tree, soaked and panting. Ben still held Rey’s hand. They looked at other, laughing. Then Ben abruptly dropped the picnic basket and wrapped his powerful arms around Rey’s body. She reached up around his shoulders and he leaned down. She’d just closed her eyes as his soft, pillowy lips landed on mouth. 

Thunder rumbled in the sky.

***

Armitage Hux banged away on a typewriter at his flat, working on a story this miserable rainy evening. His beloved cat Millicent rubbed up against his leg. 

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. “Bloody hell, who could it be?” he grumbled, gently pushing the cat aside so he could get up from his chair. There was more rapping on the door. “Hold on, I’m coming!” he called out. He opened the door a crack, leaving the chain lock fastened. Outside was a messenger boy. 

“Telegram for Mr. Armitage Hux,” he said, handing a yellow sheet of paper to Hux through the door crack.

Hux gruffly tipped the messenger boy and slammed the door shut. He studied the telegram in the dim light of his flat entry. It was from the American reporter Poe Dameron.

“Guess what. Stop. I found Anastasia’s former governess. Stop. Lives here in Britain. Stop. Will try to make contact and ask some questions. Poe.”

Hux grinned. He hadn’t told Poe yet he’d recently found the Romanov children’s former English tutor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rudolph Valentino (1895-1926) was the biggest leading man in movies in 1921 due to his roles in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and The Sheikh and was probably the first to attract his own army of "stans." Theda Bara (1885-1955) was known as "The Vamp," because she frequently played femme fatales and wore very revealing costumes. Though she was in reality a Jewish girl from Ohio, the studio billed her as the daughter of an Arab sheikh and a French courtesan, or an Italian sculptor and a French actress who grew up in Egypt. 
> 
> Telegrams = the only rapid communication in those days besides telephones, which not everyone had even at this point in the 20th century.
> 
> Be sure to subscribe and not miss a chapter!


	7. A Night At The Opera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get dramatic for our couple!

“Deep breath, Rey.” Dr. Snoke’s voice spoke like a narrator in a dream. In her deep, relaxed state Rey was barely aware she was on a stage in a theater, seated in a chair across from Dr. Snoke. He’d brought her here tonight for a public hypnosis session in front of a paying crowd. It wasn’t the first time they had done a session in a theater for an audience.

Rey obeyed Snoke’s direction, taking a deep breath. She felt like she was floating in space. “Now, reach into your past. Open the doors in your mind. Let the memories hidden within come forth, Your Highness. Tell me where you are right now.”

Rey exhaled and said in Russian, “At a grand ball.” She repeated it in English. Images flashed of herself in a white silk dress, a tiara upon her head, diamonds at her throat, long gloves up to her elbows. She whirled her away around a crowded parquet floor, the band playing a waltz. She could smell the fine French perfumes and see the flashes of medals pinned upon the men’s uniforms. 

“How old are you?” Dr. Snoke asked.

“I’m twelve. I can see my older sisters Tatiana and Olga looking so grown up. Maria is still young, like me. My brother Alexei is not well tonight, so he is in nursery. Mama and Papa are going around talking to the guests, our friend Rasputin with them. It is a magnificent night, almost magical.”

“What is the occasion for the ball?”

“The Tercentenary of the Romanov dynasty,” Rey said. “There are dignitaries, kings, queens, princes, sultans, priests, diplomats from all over the world. The people are all celebrating outside too on the streets of St. Petersburg.”

The moving pictures of the past started to fade as Dr. Snoke slowly brought her out of her trance. Rey reopened her eyes, readjusting to the reality of being on a stage, a hot spotlight shining on her, and an audience of strangers looking at her. They politely applauded. The curtain closed and Dr. Snoke led Rey off the stage, where Mr. Mitaka met them. He led them to the stage door and opened it so that the pair could exit into the night, where Dr. Snoke’s car awaited them. But to Rey’s delight Ben was standing there, dressed in a dark coat and a hat. 

“Ben!” she exclaimed, doing all she could not to run into his arms in front of Dr. Snoke.  
In his hands was a bouquet of red roses, which he handed to Rey with a tender kiss on the cheek.

“Duke Solovich,” Dr. Snoke greeted.

“Good evening,” Ben said, tipping his hat. “Thank you for inviting me to the session. It was quite fascinating. My parents had attended that ball too but I was too busy with my work at Oxford to travel to St. Petersburg so I missed it. Instead I chose to go carousing locally with some other Russian students instead.” He grinned.

“So, Duke Solovich, did you find tonight’s session convincing?” Dr. Snoke asked.

Rey bit her lip. She didn’t think for a moment Ben believed she was anyone but his betrothed princess but did he have doubts?

“If Rey remembers being there, she was there,” Ben said. He looked at Rey with a soft expression. She held the roses closer to her chest.

“Rey, as long as I’m here, I thought I would invite you to the opera next Friday night,” Ben said. “It’s La Traviata.” 

“I accept,” Rey said.

“We must be on our way,” Dr. Snoke said, ushering Rey toward the car. She turned and blew a kiss at Ben. He winked back at her.

***

Rey’s rapt attention was focused on the performers on the stage. The heroine Violetta is dying on her bed, singing a duet with Alfredo, the man she loves. A tear rolled down Rey’s cheek. It was so cruel and unfair that these lovers could not be together. Her heart broke for the both of them. Ben handed her a handkerchief, which Rey accepted gratefully and dabbed at her tears.

When the duet ended, Violetta exclaimed she felt better. Rey blinked, her heart soaring with hope. Then poor Violetta collapsed dead in Alfredo’s arms, and the curtain dropped with a final flourish from the orchestra. The audience applauded. Rey was still wiping back tears with Ben’s handkerchief during the curtain call.

“What did you think?” Ben asked as they left the opera house.

“I don’t remember this one so it was like watching it for the first time. Everyone performed well and the sets were beautiful but the ending, it was so sad!”

Ben laughed. “Yes, it’s a tragedy.”

“I thought Violetta was going to be fine, then boom! She’s gone! Poor Alfredo! Why did they try to trick us into thinking she was fine? She just dies and that’s it.”

“Next time, we see a Gilbert and Sullivan opera. Those are happier,” Ben said wryly.

They rounded a corner, heading where Chewie was waiting for them in the car. A man with his coat lapels pulled up around his collar and a hat pulled down to obscure most of his face approached them from the opposite direction. When he got close to Ben and Rey, he suddenly shouted in Russian, “Death to Imperialism! Long live Communism!” Rey saw the flash of a knife and she screamed. As the knife man lunged toward Rey, she took her handbag and slammed it across his face, knocking him off the trajectory of his attack.

In the blink of an eye, Ben seized the attacker by the wrist, forcing him to drop the knife. The assassin struggled, trying to strike at Ben. The duke struck the assassin twice, knocking him to the pavement. The assassin was dazed but in case he got any more ideas, Ben produced a pistol.

By now a crowd had gathered, shouting for the police. Several bobbies ran onto the scene, grabbing the assassin and cuffing him as Ben put away his pistol. After Ben and Rey gave their statements, they went on their way.

“Are you all right?” Ben asked, holding Rey tightly in the car.

“Yes, I’m fine, thanks to you, dorogoy. My darling.” When they reached Dr. Snoke’s home, Ben walked Rey to the front door. “Don’t leave me,” Rey pleaded when Miss Phasma let them inside.

“I do not wish to scandalize you, Nastya,” Ben said mournfully.

“I can arrange for you to stay in a separate room,” Miss Phasma said. “Allow me to speak with Dr. Snoke.”

After arrangements were made, Ben was shown to a room across the hall from Rey’s. But he did not stay long in the chamber. Rey had already changed into her nightgown by the time Ben entered her room. 

Pushing the door closed, Rey wrapped her arms around Ben’s shoulders, pulling him down for a passionate kiss. His nose smashed into her cheek and his lips devoured hers. He moaned into her mouth before slipping in his tongue.

Rey swooned, sensations she’d never experienced before exploding throughout her body. Heat rose though her skin, her heart pounded. All she wanted was Ben, all of him. She ran her fingers though his hair while his hands moved up and down her body.

Finally, Ben gently broke their contact. “Again, I don’t wish to scandalize you, my darling,” he panted.

“Hold me then. Let me sleep safe in your arms,” Rey pleaded.

Ben picked up Rey and carried her bridal style to the bed, laying her down gently, then laying beside her. She snuggled against his chest, his arms protectively around her as she drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Romanov tercentenary in 1913 celebrated 300 years of the Romanov dynasty. Just five years later, that dynasty ended violently amid revolution and chaos. 
> 
> Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata is a very popular opera from the 19th century that's still widely performed today.


	8. The Pitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe and Hux propose a newspaper story and Rey informs Snoke about an upcoming journey.

“That’s it? That’s the pitch?” 

Mr. Peavey, editor of The Daily Standard, looked at Hux and Poe incredulously, cigar dangling out of his mouth.

“Well, yes,” Hux said. Poe sat in the chair beside Hux, hat on his lap. “Don’t you think people appreciate a little truth telling over sensationalism?”

“We already have some proof that Rey DeNiima probably isn’t Anastasia Romanov,” Poe said. “Different hair color…”

“Maybe she changed it with dye to disguise herself,” Peavey said.

“Different eye color…”

“How do you know this, Dameron?” Peavey challenged.

“The former governess told us the real Anastasia had cornflower blue eyes. She should know. She spent hours with her every day for years. But Miss DeNiima doesn’t have blue eyes…”

“Have you seen her eyes up close to be certain?”

“Uh…no.”

“Well then!” Peavey slapped his palms on his desk. 

“We have more leads,” Hux insisted. 

“Listen you two. I love the idea of a sensational global exclusive but right now, the public’s sympathy is with Miss DeNiima after that assassination attempt. That Ochi fellow who tried to kill her is now the biggest villain in London. This would just be kicking the girl while she’s down. Besides, there are family members who believe she truly is Anastasia, like her cousin Duchess Holdova. And there is the matter of her apparent romance with Duke Benjamin Solovich.”

“I give her credit for landing a rich guy,” Poe cracked.

“Our readers eat up every morsel of news about them. They adore the idea of Anastasia being alive and finding true love. Miss Bazine tells me her lady readers are all aflutter over that duke,” Peavey said. “Wish they weren’t so bloody private. I’d have more to print.”

“Tell you what,” Poe said. “We’ll keep investigating and write the story when we have all of the evidence in place. Then we’ll show you the finished product. If you don’t want to run it, then maybe my paper in New York will.”

“Hmm.” Peavey rubbed his chin. “All right. Give me first look when the story’s done, then I’ll decide whether to run it or not.”

“Thank you, Mr. Peavey,” Hux said with a sly grin.

***

Rey paced nervously outside of Dr. Snoke’s study. She barely noticed Miss Phasma going by, giving her an odd look. 

“Rey, you said you wanted to see me about something?” Dr. Snoke called from inside the study.

“Yes,” she said, drawing on all of her strength to enter the room, her fingers nervously playing with the pearly buttons on her dress. She forced herself to look at the hypnotist in the eyes, taking a deep breath before saying, “This won’t take very long.”

“Well, have at it,” Dr. Snoke said.

“Ben has invited me to travel with him to Paris in two weeks. It’s just for a few days and his secretary Rose will be coming with us,” Rey said.

Dr. Snoke looked up at Rey, his brow arched. “What about our sessions? Your memory is not yet fully restored.”

“We can resume our sessions when I return,” Rey said. “Besides, I’m exhausted from all of it. I think I need to…slow down.”

“Slow down?” Dr. Snoke frowned. 

“Yes,” Rey said, jutting her chin up a little. “I truly value all of the help you’ve given me and the hospitality you’ve shown me. I’m forever grateful to you. But my nerves are still jangled from that murder attempt plus all of the nightmares and memories I’d rather forget. It’s all been a bit much. A break would be lovely and restorative.”

Dr. Snoke sighed and placed his long pale crooked fingers on his desk. “You have made incredible progress. I was thinking that perhaps we could start working soon on a book about your extraordinary life and how you recovered your memories.”

“A book?” Rey said, shocked. “I have never written a book before in my life.”

“Yours truly is an experienced author and editor so that is no trouble. The world wants to hear your story, Rey. Or should I say, Anastasia? I can help you tell it.”

Rey’s head was spinning. A book now too? When was it going to end for her? “I uh…”

“As it is, you and the duke are all over the London papers. Our public sessions are packed to the rafters. People are interested in you, my dear. The more you resist them, the more they will try to pry.”

Rey exhaled deeply and said, “I will give it some thought and discuss it in greater detail once I return from Paris.”

“Very well. I urge you however not to miss out on the opportunity.”


	9. Paris Is Always A Good Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A romantic city, a romantic chapter.

It had been a long journey, first by rail to Dover, then across the English Channel by ferry, and from Calais to Paris again by rail. But at last, Rey was walking into a suite at the Hotel Ritz, Rose behind her. 

Before even bothering to remove her coat or hat, Rey hurried to the windows overlooking the Place Vendome, pulling open the sheer curtains. She marveled at the view of the city as the bellman and Artoo the valet helped bring in the trunks and bags into both her suite and Ben’s adjacent suite. 

“So, what do you think?” Rose beamed, coming up beside Rey.

“It’s amazing,” Rey said. “Even with the skies so gray today, it’s beautiful. I can’t wait to go out and explore.”

“You know,” Rose whispered conspiratorially, “this is the happiest I’ve seen Ben. Before he met you he would spend every night alone in his study, drinking brandy until it was time to stagger upstairs to bed. Sometimes in the morning I’d find him in the study, still slumped in his chair. He only went out to church or to do a few necessary errands. A lot of the time he would just send me, Artoo, or Chewie instead. He’d have the same frowning expression all of the time, except when I’d see anger flash in those eyes.”

“His family?” Rey whispered.

“Yes,” Rose said. “Without his parents, without his country, he was a broken man. His only family left are his godmother and his uncle.”

“I never met him,” Rey said.

“That’s because he doesn’t live in London. He’s here in Paris,” Rose said. “He is a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church. He left Russia at the beginning of the revolution.”

“So is Ben here to visit his uncle?”

Rose sighed. “I’m not sure. Luke entered the church before Ben was born. He baptized Ben himself. But his life was devoted to God, while Ben’s parents were devoted to duty. I don’t think they are especially close.”

“Oh.” Rey’s heart sank. She had no one anymore but him and Snoke. What would she do for a family that was still around for her. Everyone she knew and loved were gone.

“In any case, I just wanted to let you know that you bring out the best in Ben. He’s out living life again and for that, I thank you.”

“That’s so kind, Rose. I…” Rey stopped herself and blushed.

“I think he feels the same too,” Rose said, patting Rey’s hand.

***

Paris was almost sensory overload. So many people, street cars, motor cars, and carriages moving among beautiful buildings and monuments. Ben, Rey, and Rose had barely scratched the surface of the sights before they needed a break at a cafe facing out on the busy street. If Rey—Anastasia—had learned French in the palace, she’d forgotten most of it. Fortunately, Ben could speak some of the language, while to Rey’s delight, Rose was quite fluent. 

They enjoyed crepes—they were like blinis, Ben had said—with caviar and cream. Ben smoked his cigarette languidly as they watched the elegant Parisians walk by and Rey couldn’t help but adore how he looked in his three piece dark suit. Her thigh touched his and she luxuriated in its warmth. He gave her a sideways glance and favored her with a lopsided grin. Rey’s heart fluttered. On the ferry ride across the channel, he’d put his arm around her waist as they stood on the deck watching the waves. His hand had slipped down her hip and casually rested on her rear. It was scandalous but it felt so good. 

They’d stolen a few kisses on the train ride to Paris whenever Rose left the compartment. He’d held her on his lap, letting her smell his woodsy smoky scent and tenderly run her fingers through his hair, and kissed her passionately, his tongue slipping into her mouth. “It’s all right, I’m your fiancé,” he’d muttered devilishly. 

When they left the cafe, night was falling, and the trio approached the Eiffel Tower. They stood at the foot of the massive iron monument in awe. “Let’s go up,” Ben said, taking Rey’s hand. “The view has to be breathtaking.”

“I would love to,” Rey breathed.

“You go ahead, I’ll return to the hotel,” Rose said, backing away from the duo.

“Come on Rose, you have to see it,” Rey pleaded.

“No, it’s all right. I’m scared of heights and I’m a bit tired. Long day,” Rose said. She glanced at Rey and winked at her. “See you back at the hotel!” They watched Rose scamper off to hop on a street car.

“Well, I guess it’s just the two of us then,” Ben said. He held out his arm. “Mademoiselle?”

“Monsieur,” Rey said, hooking her arm in his.

The pair rode the lift up to one of the observation decks and they marveled at the spectacular view of the city, just now sparkling with the glow of electric lights. Ben slipped his arm around her shoulder, holding her close to his body. Rey leaned into it. Learning from Rose about Ben’s darker days somehow made her feel closer to him. They truly understood each other. Rey wanted to tell him all about her nightmares, her fears, her doubts, holding nothing back. She placed her hand on his chest.

But before she could speak, Ben leaned down and muttered, “I love you, my Nastya. You are the princess of my heart.”

Rey crooked her head up so she could see into his anxious eyes. As though he feared she didn’t feel the same…

“I love you, Ben. Ya tebya lyublyu.”

“Ya tebya lyublyu,” Ben repeated and their lips met. It was a warm, wet kiss and when their lips slowly parted, they touched foreheads and held each other for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half the fun of writing this story is finding stuff like this 1920s travelogue about Paris:   
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blw8zJt-Sc0&feature=emb_title
> 
> Be sure to subscribe and not miss a chapter! I'm guesstimating we're about halfway through and there's plenty more drama to come!


	10. Uncle Lyuk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A corgi, a proposal, and a monk.

Poe Dameron snored in his chair, deep in an alcohol-induced sleep.A loud knock on his flat door shook him out of his hazy slumber.“What the…hey buddy, hold on a minute!”He tried to stand up, forgetting his beloved Corgi Bee Bee was snoozing on his lap.“Come on, Bee Bee,” Poe said, patting the dog awake.“Daddy’s gotta answer the door.”The Corgi blinked at his master then hopped down to the floor. 

Poe staggered toward the door which pounded harder along with the hangover headache that was coming.His clothes were disheveled and his hair was a mess.The last thing he felt like having right now was any kind of company.

He opened the door, leaving the chain lock in place.There through the crack in the doorway was a messenger boy.“Mr. Poe Dameron?”the kid inquired, cocking his head to the side.

“Yeah, that’s me.Whaddya want?”

“Telegram for you, sir.”The messenger boy held out the slip of yellow paper. 

“Thanks.”Poe fished for a few shillings and handed them to the messenger boy before shutting the door. He squinted his bloodshot dry eyes to read the message:

“Had a lovely conversation with the ex-tutor today.Stop.Showed him the photo of Rey DeNiima.Stop.Said no way that’s Anastasia.Stop.Too tall, too thin.Stop.Nose is wrong, you name it.Stop.Said the Tsar’s children didn’t live in luxury at all.Stop.Thinks Miss DeNiima is full of nonsense.Stop.Corroborates the nanny’s story.Stop.

—Hux.”

“Well well well,” Poe muttered with a grin.

***

As much as Rey loved the parks in London, the gardens in Paris were on another level.She and Ben strolled around the Parc Monceau, the late summer sun dappling through the trees.He was resplendent in a light suit and a hat while she wore a white dress and an organza cloche.Rose had once again found an excuse to be somewhere else so Rey and Ben could be alone. 

They wandered past the follies scattered throughout the gardens.They started on the pathway around a row of Roman-ruin style columns on the edge of a pond. “This park has been here for almost 200 years,” Ben said.“You know, my darling, if this place survived the revolution here, even all they tried to destroy, maybe something of our old world will survive after all.”

“I hope so,” Rey said wistfully. 

Ben scrunched his lip before saying, “I’m glad we found each other, Nastya.Even under these unusual and trying circumstances.When my parents were killed in Russia, it destroyed my world.I was alone, in a foreign country, unable to go home again.My godmother arrived months later and I’d leaned on her since but…”

“It’s not the same,” Rey finished.

“No.My uncle is here in Paris you know.He is a hieromonk.We have exchanged letters but not seen each other.I think he is a little disappointed in me because he’d hoped I would become a monk too upon the death of my parents.”

“You, a monk?!”Rey exclaimed with bemusement.

“I know,” Ben snorted.“But his life belongs to God and while he can offer spiritual comfort, he cannot be the belonging I need.”

Rey stopped and looked up at Ben, tears in her eyes.She tenderly put her hand on his chest.“My poor darling.”

“I found that in you, my Nastya.I was adrift in a sea of misery, drinking myself to oblivion, not knowing what I wanted.Then you were like the beacon to show me the way.And I think I may have done the same for you.”

Rey nodded.“You’re my rock, Ben.When I met you, I knew I wasn’t alone anymore.”

“It is truly a miracle of God that our parents had the wisdom and foresight to believe we would be good spouses for each other.”Ben bit his lip, then knelt his massive frame on the ground, on one knee.Rey stared at him in befuddlement and giddy anticipation, her mouth dropping open.Was this what she thinks this was?

He took Rey’s gloved hand in his own and produced from his pocket a beautiful ring with a diamond the size of her largest fingernail and as brilliant as the sun shining down on them.“Anastasia…Rey…whatever you want to call yourself…will you be my wife?”

“Oh my God, yes!”Rey cried.Passerby smiled and applauded as Ben seized her in a bear hug and spun her around.Then they settled into a long, tender kiss, her tongue lightly brushing on his.Which drew more applause.

Grinning and blushing, they ended their embrace but Ben slipped off the glove on her left hand and slid the big, beautiful ring on her finger.Then he took her hand and gently kissed her knuckles.

“One more thing, Nastya.I would like to marry you immediately.As soon as my uncle can arrange it.”

Rey gaped at him in shock.“Immediately?!”

“Yes.If there’s anything I’ve learned is, life is too short.We shouldn’t waste time.Seize the moment while we still have it.

“And listen,” Ben said, lowering his voice.“It is killing me that you are sleeping mere feet away from me and not in my arms.”

Rey grinned.“Well, not to bring further harm to you then.”She kissed his lush lips again.

From the Parc Monceau, Ben and Rey made their way to the Cathédrale Saint-Alexandre-Nevsky de Paris.They entered the cavernous cathedral, full of candles and beautiful iconography.A young priest came forward and Ben asked him in Russian for Hieromonk Lyuk.“It’s his nephew, Ben,” he added.

Moments later, Rey saw a man approach them who in many ways was quite different from Ben.He was considerably shorter, dressed in a black cassock, his longish graying hair tussled, and a long gray beard extending down to his chest.A large cross hung from a thick gold chain around his neck.When he came close, Rey could see the hieromonk’s blue eyes.

“Benjamin, finally you come to see me,” Lyuk said wryly.He took Ben in his arms and gave him a tight hug.

“I’m sorry, Uncle, it’s been too long,” Ben said, his face struggling to control his emotions.

“Likewise my boy,” Lyuk grinned.He turned to Rey, a mix of suspicion and curiosity on his face, and said to her, “Who are you?”

“Forgive my uncle’s bluntness,” Ben interjected.“It’s a family trait.Uncle Lyuk, this is my fiancée, the one betrothed to me, our Grand Duchess returned to us, Anastasia.”

Lyuk’s blue eyes widened with disbelief.“Grand Duchess Anastasia?!My boy, are you sure?”

Rey’s lips parted, her breath shortening.What if Ben’s uncle didn’t want to perform the ceremony?What would they do then?

“Godmother Amilynya thinks so, and she is Anastasia’s family.And she has revealed much that no stranger would know.”

Lyuk turned his gaze back at Rey.She pleaded, “I have memories of St. Petersburg, of my sisters, my brother, my parents, and other loved ones.Memories I cannot otherwise explain.Nightmares that haunt me.I am not out to deceive anyone, Father.”She took Ben’s hand and held it.“And I love your nephew so very much.”

“I love her,” Ben added.“We are meant to be together.God has seen to it, Uncle.”

Lyuk sighed with resignation.“So, are you planning a wedding?”

“That’s what I came here to discuss, Uncle,” Ben said.“We would like to marry as soon as possible.”

Lyuk’s eyes bulged again.“What is the hurry my nephew?”

“Life is too short.We do not want to waste any more time.”

“If you are anything like your father, you don’t want to waste any more time waiting to consummate,” Lyuk harrumphed.He turned to a blushing Rey and added, “That is why he didn’t want to become a monk.”

“Uncle!”

“Very well, my boy, I can perform a ceremony for you both tomorrow evening.”

“Thank you!”Rey cried, restraining herself from hugging the hieromonk. 

“I still have no idea who you are but I am doing this as a favor to my nephew, who should visit more often.Eight o’clock tomorrow night?”

“Yes, we’ll be here.It will just be the two of us and a few witnesses.Thank you, Uncle.”

Lyuk leaned in close to Ben and whispered, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A hieromonk in the Eastern Orthodox churches is a monk who also serves as a priest. 
> 
> The Cathédrale Saint Alexandre-Nevsky de Paris is a real place, built in the 19th century and the first known Russian Orthodox church in France. Pablo Picasso married his first wife there in 1916.
> 
> Next time: Ben and Anas-Rey-sia tie the knot!


	11. Royal Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a nice day for a white wedding.

Beneath golden icons and massive chandeliers, Rey and Ben stood in front of the cathedral’s candlelit analogion. Rey’s simple white lace dress was purchased at a dressmaker’s shop that morning, the veil obscuring her face from a bridal salon. Ben wore one of his dark suits. Both of them held a lit candle.

Standing behind them was Chewie, who journeyed many hours to make it just in time for the private ceremony. The massive Cossack held an elaborate golden crown inches above Ben and Rey’s heads. Rose and Artoo stood behind the wedding party, the former holding a spray of daisies for the bride.

Hieromonk Lyuk, now wearing a scarlet and gold vestment, a gold stole, and a kamilakava on his head, signaled Chewie to lower the crowns onto Ben and Rey’s heads. Next, the hieromonk offered a gold cup of wine to Ben, who sipped out of it, then Rey. Lyuk’s prayers echoed through the otherwise empty cathedral.

After Ben and Rey drank the wine, Lyuk wrapped the couple’s hands in his stole and led them around the analogion three times. Then he removed Ben’s crown, Ben bending over slightly to help his shorter uncle reach it. Ben pressed his lips to the crown, then Lyuk set it aside. Lyuk repeated the same ritual with Rey.

The hieromonk led his nephew and his nephew’s bride to the altar. The couple knelt as Lyuk’s voice again echoed through the cavernous cathedral in his Russian intonations. Then he jovially told the couple, “You may stand and kiss the bride. May the Holy Spirit be with you.”

Rey looked up into Ben’s shining brandy brown eyes as he pulled the veil back over her head. It was not the perfect wedding for a princess but it was a perfect wedding for her. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers. It was a long, warm kiss but nothing to scandalize the hieromonk or the few witnesses.

Outside of the cathedral, Chewie produced a bag with a surprise for both Ben and Rey. Champagne, bread with salt, and two wrapped glasses. “You do not have your parents here,” the Cossack said, “ so I provide these for you.”

Ben actually looked like he was about to cry, which made Rey—already emotional from the wedding ceremony—tear up. “Thank you my friend,” Ben choked. After consuming the bread and drinking a champagne toast, the newly-wed couple tossed the wrapped glasses to the pavement, both shattering in pieces. 

“Many happy years together!” Rey cried joyfully at the small pieces of the glass. She and Ben danced like fools there on the sidewalk, laughing and not caring who stared at them. He seized her up in his arms and whirled her around as she threw back her head and laughed so hard she screamed. Finally he set her back down on her feet and regained his composure.

“And now everyone, we must go to the river for a special surprise,” Ben announced. “Follow me.”

From there, the Solovichs, Rose, Artoo, and Chewie made their way to the Seine River where a boat beautifully decorated with white muslin, crinoline, garlands of white roses, and lanterns awaited them. “This is magical,” Rey gasped in awe as Ben helped her board the vessel. 

“All for you my Nastya,” Ben said with a sweeping bow. 

The boat set off and the newlyweds along with their companions enjoyed champagne, vodka, dumplings, smoked salmon and herring, caviar, and a small vanilla and cream cake. They toasted and laughed, admiring the city lights around them. 

Rey rested her head on Ben’s shoulder. “I wish it could be like this a little longer,” she said.

“It can,” Ben said mischievously. “How about a spontaneous honeymoon to Monte Carlo?”

Rey’s head jerked up and she gaped at him. “I don’t know, Ben. Just our marriage is going to be a shock to Dr. Snoke. He’s expecting my return in two days.”

“It’ll be fine,” he dismissed with a wave of his hand, the gold band on his ring finger glinting. “We can send him a telegram. You’re a grown woman and my wife now. He’ll live with it.”

Rey grinned. “You’re right. We’ll send him a telegram in the morning.”

“Not too early,” Ben said, nuzzling Rey’s throat.

“You devil!” Rey teased, lightly smacking Ben’s shoulder. Which made him laugh with his lips pressed to her skin. Oh, that did nice things to her. She felt her cheeks grow warm. He gently kissed her neck up to her jaw, then her cheek, and lovingly, longingly on her lips.

It was late when the small wedding party returned to the Hotel Ritz.

“Here is where we take our leave of the happy couple,” Rose announced. “Go on, enjoy your evening, you two.” Chewie laughed heartily and Artoo appeared on the verge of saying something bawdy but decided to keep it to himself. The three of them walked off into the hotel bar.

“Our wedding suite awaits, Duchess Solovich,” Ben said, taking Rey’s hand and kissing it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Eastern Orthodox churches have unique rituals in their weddings and in the Russian Orthodox church, crowning and walking around the lectern three times are among them. I literally watched entire wedding ceremonies on YouTube to pick up on the traditions, while keeping in mind my story is one ladder rung above a secret wedding. The exchange of rings (betrothal) actually happens first but I decided it would be more interesting to start with the crowning part of the ceremony. It's apparently a tradition for newlyweds to smash a glass for good luck and eat salted bread, then travel around to various monuments around town.
> 
> Thanks for the shoutout from The Reylo Athenaeum (@reylo_fic) on Twitter!
> 
> Next chapter: The wedding night!


	12. Wedding Suite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wedding night!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is rated "mature" so it's not super smutty. I figured anything too explicit wouldn't fit the mood of the story.

At the threshold of Ben’s suite, he seized her up in his strong arms but instead of carrying Rey bridal style, he carried her over his shoulder, his hand firmly on her rear. “Ben!” she squealed, laughing and lightly punching at his back.

Once inside the room, he set her feet down on the elegant Persian carpet and turned her around to see the room was lit with candles and rose petals were scattered on the four-poster bed. “It’s beautiful,” Rey gasped.

“A mere reflection of the bride’s beauty,” Ben intoned, leaning over to nibble at his wife’s neck. Rey reached up to run her fingers through Ben’s thick black waves. He kissed her neck and jaw, his nose mashing into her.

“You don’t waste any time do you?” Rey teased as Ben removed her veil and tossed it aside.

“No, my princess. We must have an heir by next spring,” he murmured, his breath hot into her ear.

“So soon?” Ben’s lips moved up her cheek to her temple. His hands roamed over her body.

“We at least have to try,” Ben said, his deep voice dripping with enticement. “It’s our duty.” He paused a moment then started unbuttoning Rey’s white dress. He would press small kisses on her back as he kept unbuttoning down her spine.

The dress slipped down to her feet. Rey stepped out of her heels, leaving her clad in only her brassiere, panties, garters, and stockings. Ben looked at her intently and licked his lips. “Krasivaya devushka,” he breathed.

“Now it’s your turn,” Rey said, removing his jacket and laying it on top of a chair. She removed his tie, then she unbuttoned the shirt that could barely fit across his broad chest. Rey gasped when she saw his bare chest. He was enormous. She marveled at his biceps, his hard and sculpted torso. Her fingertips danced over his bare skin, marveling the hardness of muscle beneath his flesh. He breathed heavily.

Finally she unbuckled his belt and unfastened his trousers. Ben stepped out of his shoes and removed the trousers, leaving him clad only in his silken boxers, dark socks, and garters. “Come my darling,” Ben said, patting the bed. “Sit right there.”

Rey sat down on the bed and Ben knelt in front of her. He unfastened one garter holding up a stocking. “In my profligate and decadent days, I learned the arts of love from a courtesan,” Ben said, pressing a kiss on Rey’s thigh. “Now I share them only with you. Forever.” He took the edge of the stocking in his teeth and pulled it down her leg. He moved on to her other leg, caressing her thigh as he worked the garter’s fastenings, then leaving another kiss and a lascivious lick of his tongue.

“Unh,” Rey moaned. Her cheeks felt hot. His hands removed the stocking and tossed it aside. Then he hurriedly removed his own socks, fully exposing his strong legs. He rose to his full height and reached down to strip Rey of her brassiere. Then he divested her of her panties. He grinned at her, taking in an eyeful of her bareness. 

“And now for the finale,” Ben said, pulling down his boxers with a flourish. Rey’s eyes widened. Had she ever seen a naked man before? She wasn’t sure. But she was a little shocked at his…largeness. 

“Are you all right, Nastya?” 

“I’m fine…I’m just…surprised.”

“By the end of the night you and this fellow will be good friends,” Ben cracked, lying on his side next to her. “I promise you.” He picked up a rose petal and blew it at her. Rey laughed and he took her in his arms. They kissed and explored each other’s bodies, learning how to give each other pleasure. Rey found she already loved kissing the fair skin between his treasure trail and his hip, counting the freckles and moles dotting his face and body, cradling his buttocks, and the way he hummed with delight whenever her own touch excited him. And Ben found things about her own body she’d never known before. She was electrified from head to toe.

Finally they joined, Ben cradling her hips as he made love to Rey. She luxuriated in him, feeling connected to him, as though they were one mind and one soul. Their cries of ecstasy echoed throughout the room, tremors shaking their bed. 

Afterward, she contentedly rested her head on his chest, his arm around her shoulders as he smoked a cigarette. “That was me being gentle,” he rumbled. “Just wait until the tiger is unleashed.”

“How soon do I find out?” Rey flirted, tracing her fingertips on his abdomen.

“Definitely before we return to London.” They traded a grin then Rey settled back in his embrace. Melancholy washed over her unexpectedly and it surprised her.

She was home now, with her husband, the man her family had chosen for her. Was it guilt? Or was it something else that tugged at her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be sure to subscribe and not miss a chapter!


	13. Married

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey begin married life together while Poe and Hux discuss their expose.

Rey walked into the suite just in time to catch her naked husband in the bathroom, door wide open. She took a moment to admire his broad back, the curve of his buttocks, and his muscular legs before clearing her throat. Ben was washing his hands at the sink, grinning at his new bride over his shoulder.

“One thing you have to know about me,” he said, “I’m not terribly modest.”

“I advise you to dress before breakfast is brought in,” Rey said wryly. She flopped onto the bed as Ben put on his clothes. “The telegram has been sent to Dr. Snoke. And to your godmother.”

Ben took Rey’s hand in his. “Do not worry, my Nastya. Everything will be fine. My home is your home now and if Dr. Snoke has a problem with it, I will deal with him.”

Rey’s lips parted. “There’s something I need to tell you,” she started, licking her lips. “When I told Dr. Snoke about this trip to Paris, expressed his desire to write a book about my experiences. I told him we would discuss it when I returned to London.”

“And?”

Rey bit on her lip. “A book means a world tour, going all over the world to do sessions, giving speeches. I don’t know if that’s what I want. Especially not now.”

Ben crouched down and took Rey’s other hand. “Whatever you choose, my wife, I will support you. You’re not alone anymore.”

“Neither are you,” Rey said.

***

Armitage Hux ducked into the pub, shaking rain off his umbrella. 

“A gimlet,” he called out to the barmaid.

He found Poe Dameron in a booth next to a stained glass window, already nursing an ale. “Did you hear the news yet?” Hux sneered. He pulled a newspaper from beneath his arm and slapped it down on the table. Poe leaned close to peer at the open page.

“Anastasia Claimer Marries In Paris,” Poe read aloud. He swore and slumped back in his seat, hand on his forehead. Then he took a long drink of his ale.

“Bazine found out from a contact in the Hotel Ritz,” Hux huffed. “That Duke Solovich is a fool.”

“Well, that pushes back our little expose for a while yet,” Poe groaned. “Wonder what that Dr. Snoke thinks. She’s going to be out of his control.”

“Perhaps,” Hux mused. “Or, maybe it’s all going according to plan.”

“What do you mean?”

“Dr. Snoke finds this girl and uses her to infiltrate aristocratic circles. A big catch comes along to snatch up the bait and now he’s got access to whatever she has. Or maybe he wants into these social circles for his own advancement.”

“She’s still his show pony,” Poe mused.

“Indeed, he seems intent to milk her notoriety for all its worth but never underestimate a con man’s ambitions.” The barmaid brought over the gimlet. “To the happy couple,” Hux mocked in a toast.

“Congratulations to Duke and Duchess Solovich,” Poe laughed, lifting up his glass. “Let’s hope the duke can get an annulment when it’s all over.”

***

Rey frowned. Something wasn’t right. Instead of the green fields of central France, Rey saw through her train window forests covered with thick snow. Confused, she turned to Ben only to find the seat next to her empty. The beautiful clothes she’d had on before were replaced with a drab coat and the bag found with her on the streets of London was next to her thigh. The luxurious first class car with dark wood, cushioned seats, and brass was now a plain and chilly rail car, simply-dressed people sitting around her.

“Where am I?!” Rey cried but no one responded. 

She jerked awake, finding Ben cuddled beside her. “What is wrong, Nastya?” Ben frowned. “Did you have a bad dream?”

“Yes,” she said shakily, relieved she was back in the luxury car, Ben was next to her, and the French countryside was speeding by the window.

He nodded at her understandingly. “It’s all right, my darling.” He pressed his full lips on her forehead. “I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

Rey sighed and rested her head on his chest, hearing his heart beat and staring at the sparkling ring on her finger. She and Ben had left Paris for Monaco just hours ago for their honeymoon. Rose and Artoo remained in Paris to take care of business for Ben for a day or two longer, while Chewie was on his way back to London. She realized this was going to be the longest amount of time she had ever spent alone with Ben. She was truly taking the first steps of being a married woman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, I'm guesstimating 23 chapters total with a conclusion in October.
> 
> Subscribe now and don't miss a chapter!


	14. Monte Carlo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's fun in the sun.

Ben and Rey chased each other on the Plage du Lavrotto, laughing as they splashed through the Mediterranean tide. His black swimsuit and hair were already soaked, while Rey’s chin-length curls peeked haphazardly beneath a swim cap. Her own swimsuit was a light tan, almost the color of her sun kissed skin. Ben had teased it almost made it look like she was nude and that was all right by him. Rey had punched him in the arm.

Rey splashed water at Ben, getting his hair so wet, it matted around his face, somehow making his prominent nose look even more prominent and exposing the top tips of his ears. Rey couldn’t help but chuckle. “You look like a soaked cat,” she teased.

A small wave then took her by surprise, smacking her like a wet slap from behind. “Oooh!” she yelped, water dripping from her face, her mouth and eyes bulging open. It was Ben’s turn to laugh. “I’ll get you!” she cried.

“What? It wasn’t my fault. I’m not Poseidon, lord of the seas.”

“You laughed.”

“You laughed at me!”

They charged at each other, tickling and play fighting. Ben seized Rey’s squirming, soaked body in his powerful arms and carried her out of the surf as though she was simply as light as a feather. “Ben,” Rey choked, laughing so hard she could barely speak, “put me down.” She playfully smacked his chest.

Then a big powerful wave hit them, causing Ben to lose his balance and tumble to the pebbly shore. Ben shouted a loud curse and quickly scrambled to pull Rey to her feet. “Are you all right, Nastya?” he asked, brushing pebbles sticking to her body off of her.

“I’m all right,” she said. “At least you didn’t squash me.” She absent mindedly brushed sand and pebbles off of her rear end. Rey looked up and saw a pair of old ladies looking at them from their beach towels. Both women were practically fully dressed, in hats, stockings, and street shoes with their wool swim dresses. 

Ben leaned over and whispered, his breath hot on her ear. “Remember when I told you the tiger was going to be uncaged?”

Rey bit on her lip and nodded.

“It’s escaped now and it wants to devour you. Now.”

“Ben, it’s in the middle of the day.”

“It’s either in private or in public here on the beach,” he groaned. 

Rey shivered and felt a throbbing warmth deep in her core. “Let’s go back to the hotel,” she rasped. To her surprise, Ben picked her up and slung her over one shoulder. Rey glanced over at the old ladies. One of them made an odd face, adjusting her spectacles. The other one smiled knowingly at Rey and Ben, giving them a wink.

They hurried back to their room at the Hotel De Paris. Wet woolen swimsuits were cast aside, sand and pebbles brushed off of bare skin, and they tumbled in a tangle of arms and legs onto the four poster bed. Ben clearly wanted to dominate, so Rey let him take control. Bites were mixed with kisses and he left his mark on her skin where only he could see. His hands caressed her whole body, his mouth greedily tasting every inch of her. He was merciless and Rey didn’t want him to stop. 

When they joined, Ben pounded her deep into the mattress while he cried out like a pagan warrior. He reached up with his large hand over her throat, his hips rocking frantically. Rey was incoherent. All she could do was pull on his hair with one hand and slap his rear end with the other.

They lay panting side by side, a big grin on Ben’s flushed face, Rey rapt with fulfillment. 

***

They’d spent the rest of the afternoon in their suite, making love multiple times. Rey swore the gentle ocean breeze scented with orange blossom wafting through the open windows was an aphrodisiac. When the attendant brought tea, Ben accepted the tray with a towel haphazardly tied around his hips. They fed each other the small sandwiches, scones, and sweets, Rey licking the crumbs off of Ben’s chest.

By the time night fell and they readied themselves for an evening out, Rey was well-sated, for the time being anyway. She’d shaved him and tamed his black waves with pomade. He’d lovingly buttoned up her black dress, the same one she’d worn the night they met. Ben looked dapper in his dark evening suit, his thick hair slightly slicked back. After an evening meal of seafood, they continued on to the famed Casino De Monte Carlo. She knew nothing about gambling but one could not visit Monaco and not see the casino.

The palatial exterior looked like an emperor’s summer home, complete with gardens, a large fountain, and palm trees. Rey marveled at the interior; it rivaled anything in St. Petersburg. Frescoes and skylights above her, marble floors beneath her heeled shoes, marble Roman columns surrounding her. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Ben said. 

“It’s incredible,” Rey replied. “So much artistry for a place of gambling.”

“I’ll tell you something. This place is why nobody in Monaco has to pay taxes. This draws in the very rich, those who could afford to lose thousands of pounds in a night and not give it another thought.”

Something tugged at Rey’s thoughts. It wasn’t Ben’s usual brutally realistic observations. It seemed more emotional. She felt like she should have more of an emotional reaction to the luxurious surroundings, as though it should remind her of a home she lost. But it didn’t. It was curious. She decided to keep that to herself for the moment.

Ben led her into one of the gaming rooms. It too was as an elaborate as a royal palace—fine carpeting, frescoes, gilded columns, crystal chandeliers—but as with all gaming rooms, it was also crowded, smoky, and noisy.

“Shall we get a drink?” Rey suggested. Compared to the finery some of the other casino patrons wore, she felt a little less glamorous but on the other hand, it was refreshing to be in a crowd without being stared at. 

“Lead the way,” Ben said. They walked to the bar and ordered two martinis. “Shaken, not stirred,” he told the bartender.

“Oui, monsieur.”

Martinis in hand, the pair went over to the slot machines. After Ben explained how they worked, Rey immediately wanted to play. “This looks like fun!” she enthused.

“They also take a lot of your money without you realizing it,” he warmed. 

“Oh, just a few francs can’t do any harm,” Rey said. She opened her evening bag and dropped in the first coin. Ben lit a cigarette and watched with amusement at Rey pulling the arm over and over, frowning with disappointment and frustration. 

“Here, let me try,” Ben said, crushing his cigarette in an ashtray next to the slot machine. He put in a coin and pulled the arm. Three matching bars came up and the couple squealed in delight with the jingle of coins falling out of the slot. Rey eagerly scooped up the winnings into her bag. “With luck on our side, maybe we should try something with bigger stakes,” Ben said.

“Like what?”

“Let’s go into the other room and see.”

Ben and Rey went into the other main gaming room. “Over there are the card tables. Baccarat, poker, black jack.” Ben pointed toward a group of men seated around a table, smoking and moving chips onto the green felt table. “And over there are the craps tables.” Rey turned to look at patrons crowded around long deep tables where the croupier tossed dice onto the green felt surface. “And here are the roulette tables, French and English.”

Rey went over to observe the English roulette table. Ben leaned in beside her, his body warm against hers. He slipped his arm around her waist. She watched how the game was played and it seemed simple enough. Bet on a black or red number and if the little ball fell into the numbered slot on the spinning wheel, you win. 

Rey took some chips out of her bag (where did she get the chips) and placed them on a number she chose at random, “19” red. The wheel spun around and the little ball fell into another slot no one bet on. After a few more unsuccessful turns, the couple moved on to the card tables.

“My father used to play baccarat,” Ben mused. “His friend from the army tried to teach me but my mother disapproved.”

Rey rubbed her hand on his lower back. “You miss them.”

“Yes.” A faraway, melancholic look washed over his eyes. “I wish they’d met you, Nastya. Met the woman you’d become. They would’ve loved you.”

Tears pooled in Rey’s eyes, glinting like the crystal chandeliers in the gaming room. “That means the world to me, Ben.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been to Monte Carlo but that was when I was 16 years old and too young to go inside the famed casino. The Hotel De Paris is a real place and the beaches on the French Riviera are more pebbly than sandy.
> 
> I've been posting two chapters a week but I'm working out the details of the final chapters of the story, so that's been slowing things down a little. The story does have an ending, so don't worry!
> 
> Subscribe now and don't miss an update!


	15. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Duke and Duchess Solovich return to London.

Duchess Holdova held up her champagne glass in the center of her parlor.She grinned at the small number of her friends and family gathered around her.“To the happy couple, Benjamin and Anastasia.May God bless them with a long, wonderful life together.Na vasha zodorov’ye.”

“Na vasha zodorov’ye!”echoed the gathered guests before they all drank from their glasses.Of all those at the reception Holdova put on to celebrate Ben and Rey’s surprise marriage, no one was happier than the duchess. 

“I have more news,” she said.“As a wedding gift to my beloved godson and his new wife, I am giving them an ocean voyage to New York!”

Rey and Ben turned to look at each other with shock and delight as the guests applauded. 

“At their leisure of course.And in the finest suite of the finest ship.”

“Thank you so much,” Rey said, embracing the duchess as the party continued.

“Thank you, godmother Amilynya.”Ben leaned over and kissed his godmother on the cheek.

“You’re welcome my darlings,” Holdova said.“Just promise me that by the time you both come back from New York there’s a baby on the way.”

Ben and Rey laughed and blushed.“We’ll see about that,” Rey said.“But we will have children.”

“Many,” Ben added with a cheeky grin.“So many we will have to move into Buckingham Palace.”Rey playfully punched at Ben’s chest but she only lightly tapped him.He pulled her in his arms and kissed her, to the delighted hoots and cheers of the partygoers.

***

Rey lay on the red leather couch, her eyes closed, her breath controlled. 

“It is getting late your highness, so I am going to bring you out of your past at my count,” Dr. Snoke intoned, a narrator speaking over a hazy scene of throwing snowballs outside of a palace.“Five, four, three, two…one.”

Rey sat up, feeling a bit groggy as she was brought back to the present.“I have been meaning to ask you about some odd memories that came up during my honeymoon.I’ve had dreams that don’t comport with the ones I had before.I haven’t had new memories as Anastasia return until this afternoon.Things that should mean something to me as princess don’t.”

“Well, maybe it’s because it’s been weeks since we’ve had a session,” Dr. Snoke mused, rubbing his chin.“Even though you are settling into married life now, our work must continue apace.Once all of the secrets have been uncovered, everything will make sense.Perhaps as we collaborate on my proposed book, you’ll find that clarity.”

Rey looked off to the side, biting her lip.“I haven’t been able to shake the feeling lately that there’s something more to my story than a life of luxury until I escaped from the Bolsheviks.And I still haven’t been able to remember anything leading up to the day that young man found me on the street.What was I doing there?”

Dr. Snoke steepled his fingers.“My dear, why the uncertainty?Did the assassin frighten you?You need not worry about him.He’s already pled guilty and will spend a long time in jail.”

“That’s not it,” Rey said, shaking her head. 

“But?”Dr. Snoke added.

“I think I should have my full memories restored before I agree to this book with you.The puzzle is not yet complete and I don’t feel comfortable increasing my notoriety until then.”

“Rey.Anastasia.”Dr. Snoke rose from his desk and walked around to face Rey.“I have taken you in, supported you, helped you regain your memories.You were a day away from being sent to a mental asylum.Imagine, the last princess of Russia wasting away in an asylum, unknown to the world.Instead of you have been taken care of and now, you’re Duchess Solovich of Moldavia.In exile, but still an aristocrat.”

“And I can never fully repay you for all you’ve done for me.I’m grateful for everything you’ve done over the past several months for me.Everything I have now is because of you.I’m just asking for patience.”

Dr. Snoke sighed, rose to his feet, and started to pace on his Persian rug floor.“Indeed, my dear.But we don’t have an eternity to wait on our extraordinary story.You may not know this but there are other women who are not only claiming to be Anastasia, but also claiming to be your sisters.Other Romanovs.We will not only compete with them for newspaper and magazine coverage, there is also the matter of your inheritance.”

“Inheritance?”

“Yes.You, the sole heiress to the Romanov fortune as well as an heiress to the House of Hesse, will eventually make your claim, won’t you?Have you not discussed it yet with the duke?”

Rey shook her head.“No, not at all.”

“You must,” Snoke implored.“Don’t wait for these imposters claiming to be you or another family member take what is rightfully yours.We must act soon to establish beyond all doubt that you are the sole survivor and true heiress.”

A knock on the study door interrupted Dr. Snoke.He opened it and there stood Mr. Mitaka.“Dr. Snoke, there is a call for you from the newspaper in Hamburg.”

“Ah, I’d been expecting that one.”He turned to Rey.“Excuse me, my dear, it won’t be more than a few moments.”He walked out of the study and followed Mr. Mitaka to the telephone in Dr. Snoke’s private sanctum.

Alone, Rey rose to her feet and started to put on her Burberry coat.She was still processing the fact Dr. Snoke was openly encouraging her to claim her wealth.He had never mentioned money or anything before.Whatever was earned from appearances was more than adequate to cover her room and board as well as Dr. Snoke’s services.Why did he care if she had her inheritance or not?

If he hoped to get something from it?

Rey sighed.She did not want a fight over this with Dr. Snoke but she couldn’t help but feel as though he was increasingly interested in using her to increase his own wealth.Glancing back toward the leather reclining couch, she noticed something making a slight bump in the curtain hanging behind it.Rey crept closer to the bump then moved the heavy red velvet drape covering it.There was a black round object that looked vaguely like the receiver on a telephone.“What is that?”she muttered to herself.

“Miss, er. Madame Solovich.”

Rey nearly jumped out of her coat at the sound of Miss Phasma’s stern voice at the study doorway.“I thought I dropped a glove here,” Rey said, striding away from the red curtains.“I seem to have found it.”She took a glove out of her coat pocket and waved it.“Please tell Dr. Snoke to have a pleasant afternoon and I shall be back next Tuesday.”When Rey passed the tall housekeeper, she could feel the other woman’s blue eyes burning into her.


	16. Anonymous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A moment of domesticity and it's just about to all hit the fan.

Rey entered the three story brick Georgian townhouse that was now her home with Ben.“Good evening, Madame,” Threepio the butler greeted as he helped Rey remove her coat.“Care for a cup of tea?”

“That would be lovely, thank you Threepio.”

Rey found Ben seated in his favorite chair next to the fireplace, reading a newspaper.A jazz record spun on the gramophone.“Ah, my darling!” he called out, setting down the newspaper.Rey went over to his chair and kissed him on the cheek.“So, how did it go with Dr. Snoke?”He put his arm around Rey’s waist, pulling her down to sit on the armrest.

“All right.Today it was a snowball fight that happened in 1911,” Rey said.“As for everything else, I left it open to work on a book on a later date when my full memories return.” 

“A wise decision,” Ben said.“I think that at some point, this whole thing is going to end, isn’t it?This isn’t going to go on forever.”

“No, of course not,” Rey reassured him, gently brushing back hair from his forehead.She bit back any mention of Dr. Snoke pushing her to claim an inheritance or seeing the strange object in the study.

He smiled at her, the corners of his warm eyes crinkling.His hand tapped on her leg to the time of the music coming from the gramophone’s brass horn.“What do you think about roast lamb for supper tonight?”

“I love roast lamb.” 

Threepio came in with a cup of tea and two shortbread biscuits which Rey gratefully accepted.

“Excellent because the cook is already preparing it,” Ben said. 

Rey laughed, trying not to spit out her tea.How could it be possible, after all she had been through, to be this happy?A new home, a new country, a new husband who loves her deeply and whom she loves as deeply in return?In that moment, she realized she didn’t need an inheritance of money or gold or land.Those things did not bring anyone joy and certainly did nothing to save her family from being murdered.None of it mattered.

***

Armitage Hux sat at the secluded park bench, vaguely noticing the leaves on the trees had started to turn brown and orange.He checked his pocket watch.His contact should be meeting him any moment now.

The contact had called him a couple of days ago, just as he and Poe Dameron were putting the finishing touches on their expose of Dr. Snoke and Rey DeNiima.Somehow this contact got whiff of the story and to Hux’s shock, instead of convincing the two reporters drop the story through pleas, demands, or threats, the contact told Hux he had further information.Information that would end once and for all any speculation that Rey DeNiima was the long lost Anastasia Romanov.

Hux heard footsteps on the pavement and looked up to see a figure dressed in a dark coat.Hux tried not to show any kind of shock when he saw the contact.No need to verify this person as part of Dr. Snoke’s inner circle.Hux recognized the person immediately.This was going to be stupendous.

The contact sat down next to Hux.“Dr. Snoke is perpetuating a fraud,” the contact said.“And he is using a naive young girl to pull it off.”

“How so?”Hux asked.

“He is using the power of suggestion while the girl is under hypnosis or while she slept inside Dr. Snoke’s home.He is creating fanciful tales and implanting them as her true memories.An assistant would whisper these suggestions through a secret speaker in the wall of Dr. Snoke’s study or in Miss DeNiima’s bedroom.”

“Why would he do such a thing?”Hux asked, eagerly scribbling down the details.

“He saw his opportunity when he read about Miss DeNiima’s predicament.He hoped to restore her memory and increase his notoriety.But when she spoke Russian unbidden, he chose to promote her as the true Anastasia Romanov.He could see Miss DeNiima was a lovely, charming girl.Guileless.Not disturbed like that other girl in Germany who says she’s Anastasia.”

“She already spoke Russian?Then how do we know for sure she is not truly the princess?”

“When some people sustain a blow to the head, it can sometimes scramble the brain.People start speaking languages they never spoke or learned before.I believe this is the phenomenon Miss DeNiima experienced.She has no actual memories of being Anastasia.Everything she has relayed in public was suggested through historical accounts and reports.And besides, she really doesn’t even look much like the real thing did.”

“Why are you betraying Dr. Snoke to tell me all of this?”

“Dr. Snoke wants Miss DeNiima to claim Anastasia’s inheritance.He thinks that acceptance by the real Anastasia’s second cousin and marriage to her godson will help his case.He then wants Miss DeNiima to surrender a portion of that fortune over to him.Through his solicitor if necessary.Dr. Snoke has always exploited Miss DeNiima but this goes too far.And besides, he refused to increase my wages.”

Hux chuckled.“Of course.It always comes down to money.Are you willing to go on record or shall you remain anonymous?”

“Anonymous for now,” the contact said.

***

Poe Dameron and Armitage Hux grinned and nudged each other as Mr. Peavey read their completed expose on Rey DeNiima with intensity.They could tell he was engrossed.Hux knew the proof was stacked in favor of her not being Anastasia.The tutor, the nanny, a few surviving relatives expressing doubt, differences in appearance between DeNiima and the real Anastasia, and the assassin Ochi confessing in his jail cell that when he came up close to DeNiima, he could tell she was not the princess but decided to try to kill her and the duke anyway. 

But the real bombshell was the interview with the source close to Dr. Snoke.Hux revealed who the source was to Mr. Peavey and Poe, shocking both men.

Mr. Peavey looked up from the article. “Well, I’ll be damned.” 

“So, when’s it going to run?”Poe asked.

“Two days from now, I think,” Mr. Peavey said.“Depending of course on events.Good work, lads.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's all going to come fast and furious now!
> 
> I've determined the story will have a total of 22 chapters. I've just done a draft of the final chapter so it will all come to an end very soon. 
> 
> Subscribe now and don't miss an update!


	17. Breaking News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It hits the fan.

A series of errands that shouldn’t have taken an entire afternoon ended up taking far longer than expected thanks to a tipped wagon on a major thoroughfare in London.Street closures forced Chewie to take the Solovichs’ car a different route through the city.Rey glanced up at the steel gray skies above the brick and stone buildings.She’d hoped they would get home to Ben before it started raining.

They passed a canal bridge and as the car slowed to a crawl through traffic, Rey saw a street corner that seemed familiar.She sucked in her breath.It was the place where she’d been found unconscious on the street. 

“Chewie, stop please!I need to step out a moment.” 

“Da,” Chewie growled.“But why does the madam want to get out here?”This part of the city was less fashionable with its working class row houses and flats, and rough-looking pubs.It wasn’t a place for a Russian princess, or a duke’s wife.

Rey bit on her lip.“It’s personal,” she said.“I have some questions.It won’t be but a few minutes and I won’t go far.”

Chewie pulled over to the curb about a block or so away from the small canal bridge.Rey frowned and got out of the car.Leaves rattled as autumn gusts blew them down the pavement,a whisper in her ears she couldn’t understand.She pulled at her Burberry coat.She walked up to the place where she’d been found months ago, below a street lamp.Where had she been coming from?Where was she going?When did she assume the name “Rey DeNiima?” 

“Hey!It’s you!”

Rey ceased her musings and turned at the sound of a young man’s voice.Rey’s mouth dropped open.It was Finn, the man who had found her here all of those months ago.He was gaping at her as though she was a ghost.

“Finn!”Rey beamed and ran up to the young man, then eagerly shook his hand.“How have you been?!”

“I’ve been well.I suppose you have been too, your highness.”

“I never had the chance to thank you for everything you did to help me.Your kindness shouldn’t be forgotten…I want to make sure that my husband and I can do something for you…”

“No, no, no, ma’am,” Finn said, waving his hands.“I won’t take anything.It was the Christian thing for me to do, that’s all.Listen, what are you doing here?”

Rey put her hand on his shoulder.“There is something you can do to help me.I need to know the story of how you found me.”

“Well, I was walking this way as I always do on the way home from work.It was dark and drizzling rain.And you were right here,” Finn said, standing at street corner.“Lying on your side.Your bag and your identification papers were scattered over here.”He moved a few feet away.“You were unconscious at first, then you awakened and you couldn’t remember anything.I called for help and a man with a lorry helped take you to hospital.I stayed with you until you got there and made sure you were seen to.”

Rey rubbed her chin.She had hurt all over.There had been a bump on the back of her head.She had been bruised.If she’d had any money, it was gone.The identification papers only had her name on it, nothing else.But the memories of that late afternoon, early evening stubbornly refused to return.She sighed with frustration.

“Don’t worry, ma’am,” Finn said.“I’m sure you’ll eventually figure it out.”

After several minutes more of small talk and farewells, Finn went on his way home and Rey watched him go.With a deep sigh, she started back toward the car.Then she heard the cries of a paper boy carrying the evening edition of the Daily Standard.“Extra!Extra!Russian princess exposed as a fake!”To Rey’s horror, there was an illustration of herself on the front page of the paper.Her blood running ice cold, she ran up to the paper boy and hurriedly gave him a few coins for a copy, pulling down her hat so that it covered most of her face.She rushed back to the car and got in the back behind Chewie.She read through the story, her stomach turning.

“Are you all right, Madam?”the chauffeur asked.“You look quite pale.”

Rey’s lips trembled, her heart threatened to beat out of her chest.She didn’t know whether she wanted to cry or scream.She didn’t know if she was furious or in utter despair. 

_It’s a lie, it’s all a lie!!!_

Then another thought turned her very heart into ice.

_Ben, oh my God, Ben!What’s he going to say when he sees this?_

“Chewie, take me to Snoke’s house, immediately!”she cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just five more chapters to go! Subscribe and don't miss a thing!


	18. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey confronts Snoke with the Daily Standard's story.

The car had barely stopped in front of Dr. Snoke’s house when Rey furiously stomped out from the back seat, slamming the door behind her. She marched up the steps, Daily Standard under her arm, and pounded on the door with her fist. “Let me in!” Rey shouted. “Let me in right now!”

Miss Phasma opened the door but Rey wouldn’t let the tall and stern housekeeper intimidate her. “Where is he?!” Rey demanded. “Where’s Dr. Snoke?!” She pushed her way past Miss Phasma into the house, the other woman taken aback by Rey’s aggression.

“He’s…he’s uh not here,” Miss Phasma feebly stammered, watching helplessly as Rey strode down the hall to Dr. Snoke’s study.

“Oh the hell he’s not,” Rey growled. She beat on the closed door to the study. “Open up and face me, Dr. Snoke! I know the truth now! Don’t hide from me!”

In a fury she moved down the hall, knocking on the wood paneling lining the hallway. “What are you doing?” Miss Phasma cried.

“Aha!” Rey cried. “It’s hollow right here!” She pushed and pulled at the panel until it finally gave, allowing Rey to open it. Inside was a small chamber with a chair, a small desk, a pile of books about Russia, and something like a telephone receiver. “I suppose this is where you were implanting ideas in my head! Or was it Mr. Mitaka?”

“You are to stop causing a disturbance here or I shall have you removed,” Miss Phasma said, desperately trying to take control of the situation. But Dr. Snoke’s study door opened and the tall pale hypnotist peered out into the hallway.

“It’s all right,” Dr. Snoke said with resignation. “I will speak with her.” 

Rey stomped into the office, waving the newspaper. “What is the meaning of this?! You lied to me! You had me lie to everyone, the whole world! You used me for your own ends!”

Dr. Snoke shrugged. “Guilty as charged. You found the secret room. I’m just glad it wasn’t while you were still living here.” He was maddeningly calm.

“When did you decide I was to be Anastasia?” 

“When under hypnosis you started speaking in Russian,” Dr. Snoke coolly replied. “The accent was all wrong for a princess. Physically you don’t have more than a passing resemblance to Anastasia. But the connection with Russia was serendipitous. Miss Phasma filled in the rest of the details.”

“Miss Phasma?”

“As you were under hypnosis, Miss Phasma would read about the czar and czarina and their family to you from a special phone device from that hidden room. We would also do it from another hidden room while you slept upstairs. It was an excellent experiment in the power of suggestion’s effect on the subconscious.”

Rey shook her head. “That’s all I was to you? An experiment?”

“Initially, yes. Oh, I did want to use my skills to help you get your memories back but I knew I could then use your testimony to help bolster my reputation and my profession. Then you became my key to global fame and fortune. The story got bigger and bigger. You sold the whole Anastasia ruse well, Rey. People liked you. People wanted to believe you. You even fooled the csarina’s own cousin and took the man meant for Anastasia as your own. Unfortunately, because someone in my inner circle betrayed me, I will no longer be able to profit off of your plight. I may even face the law for my actions. You, on the other hand, are in a far worse place than I am. What will the Duke say once he finds out he has been deceived? Do you think he will want anything more to do with you, a mere nobody? I predict that soon enough you will be back on the street, right where a working bloke found you. If not in a jail cell.”

Rey’s eyes widened. “No, you wouldn’t! I’m innocent! I had no idea!”

“I will do whatever is necessary to protect myself,” Dr. Snoke said menacingly.

“Oh no you won’t.”

Both Rey and Dr. Snoke whirled at Mr. Mitaka’s voice. He stood in the hallway, grim and resolute. “I was the one who talked to the Daily Standard,” he said. “I hereby resign from your service.”

“You traitor,” Dr. Snoke snarled at Mitaka.

“Paid me better and perhaps it wouldn’t have happened!” Mitaka snapped. “Threaten this girl any further and I will have more of your secrets to reveal. You only used her. She is no criminal.”

“I think I’m through here,” Rey said, glaring at Dr. Snoke as she whirled on her heel and pushed past Miss Phasma a second time.

“Run along home to your husband now, the one who won’t want you anymore!” Dr. Snoke called after her.

Rey dashed back out of Dr. Snoke’s house into the car, rain starting to fall on her. “Take me to the house, Chewie,” Rey croaked, her breaking voice barely above a whisper. All Rey could do was stare at the falling rain on the windscreen and windows, tears falling the same way down her cheeks. The ride was both the slowest and entirely too-fast journey one could ever endure. When the car finally reached the house and Chewie opened the door for her, she felt like a somnambulant. She stepped into the house, already feeling like her world was collapsing in on itself. 

There in the foyer was Ben. The look of pain and anger in his eyes was too much to bear. Rey wanted to turn and run away but the growl of his voice froze her in place.

“What’s the meaning of this?” he demanded, a copy of the Daily Standard in his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaagh! What's going to happen between our two lovebirds? Find out in Ch. 19! 
> 
> Only four more to go...subscribe now and don't miss the angst, the heartbreak, and the exciting conclusion!


	19. Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Break out the tissues because the title says it all. Here's where Ben goes Kylo.

“Ben, I can explain everything,” Rey began, fresh tears falling from her eyes.“I just confronted Dr. Snoke.He used me!He filled my head with lies while I was under hypnosis!He wanted to gain money and fame off of me.He even wanted me to claim Anastasia’s inheritance!”

But Ben didn’t seem to hear what she was saying.He tossed aside the newspaper and started pacing, glowering at Rey.

“How did I let myself get tricked by a grifter and his pawn?” he moaned.“I’m an educated man!I should’ve known better!I should’ve been more skeptical!My poor godmother wanted to believe someone from her family was still alive.That some part of her old world still existed.And I fell for it because you were so convincing, so beautiful, so alluring.Snoke couldn’t have laid a better trap if he tried!”

“I’m a victim too…” Rey began but Ben sharply cut her off.

“I was a fool!Who the hell believes sideshow hypnotists?!You’re probably not even Russian!”He hit the wall beside him with his fist.Rey jumped.Ben’s eyes were coal-black, glinting with fury.His cheeks and neck turned red, his full lips a tight line.Rey backed up, remembering Rose’s words about Ben’s temper.She realized Rose, Artoo, and Threepio were nowhere to be seen.Chewie was probably hiding somewhere.

“I married an imposter at an altar before God!I took a stranger to my bed!Moved her into my home!Brought her into my world!My family!”He took a deep breath, then lowered his voice yet there was still cold anger in his tone.“You’re not Anastasia.You’re not my betrothed.You’re no one,” Ben said, almost to himself though he still stared right at her.“You’re nothing.”

His words pierced her like a hundred bullets, tearing through her soul as though it were flesh, blood, and nerves.It must’ve shown on her face because his eyes grew sad, his skin turned back to its usual color, and the edges of his mouth drooped.

“Yes, you’re right,” she said, her shoulders slouching with resignation.“I am no one.A nothing.A girl found on the street of a working class neighborhood, beaten and bruised, without a thing besides the clothes on my back and some incomplete paperwork with a name that might not be real either.No, I’m not high born like you are.There’s no blue blood in my veins.I don’t have a family or a history or a bloody castle somewhere.I might be a whore for all I know.But I never ever wanted to deceive you or hurt you.Or your dear godmother or your uncle.I wanted to believe, I needed to believe because what else do I have?!”

Rey sighed and looked at her hands, at the sparking diamond ring on her finger.Her heart shattered in a million pieces. “Now that we all know the truth, this cannot go on any further.A marriage based on lies is no marriage at all.”She removed the ring.“You married Anastasia, not a random commoner manipulated by a psychopath.”She set it down on a marble-top table next to her, the gold rattling on the hard surface.“I’m so sorry, Ben.”She turned and walked toward the front door.

“Where are you going?”

“Away, out of your life,” she said over her shoulder.“Find a better woman than me, will you?You deserve to be happy.”

“No…wait, I’m…Rey!”

But Rey didn’t stop, she didn’t listen.She ran out into the dark, rain pouring down on her, putting as much distance as she could from the beautiful home in Mayfair, a world she didn’t belong in, and a man she shouldn’t have had.She could hear Ben’s cries fading as she fled further away from a dream life that wasn’t hers in the first place.

Rey wandered around aimlessly, the rain turning into a foggy mist.She barely cared if she got hit by a bus on the street or assaulted again by a stranger.She felt completely dead inside. 

She came across an Underground station and went down the stairs.Soon she was riding a car, sunken down in a back seat, sobbing and stewing in her shame and heartbreak.She didn’t know where she was going and she didn’t care.The train’s rocking lulled her to sleep.

“Rey DeNiima?”

The woman’s voice shocked Rey out of her nap.She looked up to see Nurse Maz Kanata seated across from her.“Nurse Maz!”

“What are you doing riding the tube alone late at night?”

“Oh, Maz.I’ve had a terrible turn of things,” Rey said, sniffling.“The memories Dr. Snoke recalled for me were fabrications and it’s all out in the newspapers.I left my husband, because I married him under false pretenses.I think he hates me now.”Tears flowed again from Rey’s eyes.“I haven’t anywhere to go and I don’t know what to do now,” she sobbed.

“Come stay in my flat until you sort out your next move,” Maz said. 

“Thank you, Maz but…”

“No buts,” the nurse said, holding up an index finger.“I’ll not have you sleep on the tube or out of doors tonight.”

“Thank you,” Rey said, gratefully accepting a handkerchief from Maz. 

From the Underground station, Rey followed Maz to her humble second floor flat.It was small and a world away from the Mayfair house or Dr. Snoke’s house but it was tidy and cozy.Maz made them both tea and showed Rey where she could sleep.

As the hour grew late, they sat in front of Maz’s heating stove and talked.“I truly loved him,” Rey said.“I still do.I think I always will.”Absent mindedly, she placed her hand on an embroidered doily on the stuffed armchair.She examined it, finding its pattern familiar somehow.She received a flash in her mind, of her own hands embroidering a similar piece of linen in a gaslamp’s dim light, a small metal stove her only source of warmth. 

Rey had been singing to herself that time, an old Russian folk song.To Maz’s bafflement, Rey started singing the song softly, almost to herself. “Oy Moroz, Moroz..ne moroz menya…ne moroz menya, moyengo konya…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, no matter what galaxy or time they're in, they're still two idiots with a single shared brain cell. Will they sort everything out and find a HEA with just three more updates to go? Subscribe and find out!
> 
> "Oy Moroz, Moroz" is a real Russian folk song. You can hear it performed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2n__T3vPeQ


	20. Recall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey's true memories return and Ben's not handling his Rey-less life very well.

The memories—the true memories—rushed forth like a flash flood.A peasant girl named Rai Niktova, poor and orphaned, little more than a scavenger living in a hovel.But she was pretty and smart, so she eventually got the attention of the revolutionaries who made heady promises about making the lives of people like her better.They gave her work and a steady source of food and heating.In return, they demanded she stop going to the church in her village.They insisted she learn the writings of Marx and Lenin.Growing up she’d heard the stories about the rich lives of the czar and czarina and their children, far away in St. Petersburg but the revolutionaries hated them and told her she was poor because of people like them. 

One day, Rai Niktova was given a new job.She was to help clean a fine house where there were important prisoners.No one had told her they were once the Russian royal family.Just a sad middle-aged couple, their sickly son, and four grown or nearly-grown daughters.The daughters were kind and helpful, often helping Rai with her duties.The revolutionaries watched the prisoners and they watched Rai.She was careful not to come off as too friendly in front of them as she’d heard the guards getting in trouble for flirting with the girls. 

Then one morning, after she arrived at the house, she heard the gunfire.She’d rushed to the basement and saw the whole family dead, blood everywhere, the room hazy with gun smoke, its smell nearly choking her.“God no!”she’d exclaimed, which got one of the revolutionaries to cruelly shove her to the floor, threatening to kill her next if she’d said another word.Later she had the grim task of removing corsets full of jewels from the bodies of the girls.Rai silently prayed for them, silently told them how sorry she was.One of the guards who had long been attracted to Rai later gifted her with some of the jewels.“For the people,” he’d said.

Rai was no longer dedicated to the cause.One day, she got a warning.There were rumors Rai’s dead mother was an illegitimate child of Rasputin, the hated mad monk murdered years before.Being related to the czarina’s close confidante was…inconvenient.That night, Rai took the jewels gifted to her, pawned them, and fled Russia.

She recalled the long, lonely journey across Europe by rail, by cart, by foot, using her spare time to learn English.She remembered the sea voyage from Copenhagen to Dover, then another rail journey to London.Finding a place to stay in a boarding house.The old lady had asked her name.“It’s Rey,” she’d said.

“Rey who?”

“Rey…DeNiima,” she’d replied, creating a new last name after the village from which she came.She’d even gotten new papers with the new name.

She’d worked in a pub with another girl named Kaydel, improving her English but not doing much besides save her wages for her next move.On a whim, she’d decided one day to have her hair cut shorter.She was coming back from the hairdressers when unseen hands grabbed her from behind and the pain of their blows struck her body.

There it was, there it all was.

“It’s back, Maz!My memories,” Rey gasped after she’d finished singing the Russian folk song.“I remember everything!”

***

Duchess Holdova arrived at Benjamin Solovich’s house to find her godson drunk and disheveled.It broke her heart to see him like this.He had been this way in the years after his parents’ deaths.She feared his self-destructive tendencies had returned.

“Where’s Rose?Where’s Threepio and Artoo?”she asked.

“Hiding of course,” Ben said, swilling more of the amber liquid from a bottle.He reeked of alcohol and judging by the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, she estimated he hadn’t slept in days.Not since…she…left.“Who wants to be around a bastard like me?”

“Oh, Ben,” Holdova said, shaking her head.“Please, put the bottle down.Let’s get you cleaned up and clear your head again.”

“I don’t want a clear head again,” he growled.“She’s gone from me and with it, she took my peace.She took my soul, she took my life!”

Holdova ran her hand over her face.“This is all my fault, my boy.I can never say enough how sorry I am that I pushed her on you, that I believed it was really Anastasia.I was so utterly foolish and now, it has torn you apart.”

Ben whirled on her.“You don’t get it!I don’t give a damn anymore that she wasn’t Anastasia!Yes it hurt my pride at first but I didn’t fall in love with a ghost!I fell in love with a beautiful, bewitching, kind, gentle woman who was real and alive!She was good for me, Amilynya!That’s all that should have mattered!”

Holdova started crying.“I know, Ben.You’re right.”

“The best thing that’s ever happened to me and I drove her away!”Ben took another drink from the bottle before setting it down on a table.“That’s it…I’m going out there to find her and bring her home.”

“Are you insane?You’re in no condition to go out and wait, Ben…what about your coat?”

“To hell with my coat!”he slurred, stumbling down the front steps. 

“Ben, where will you go?How will you find her?”

“I don’t know,” he snarled, staggering down the street.“But I will find her even if I die trying!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Niktova" was taken from the Russian word for nobody, "nikto." 
> 
> The Lost Princess comes to an end this week. Ch. 21 drops on Wednesday night and the finale/epilogue on Friday night (PST). Make sure you've subscribed so you don't miss 'em!


	21. Penance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey receives shocking news about Ben.

Rey knelt on the hard, cold floor.She reached into the metal pail beside her and took out the wet, soapy brush.Shaking off the excess water, she started scrubbing the floor with the brush.The scratching on the stone floor and her breathing were the only sounds in the empty convent cell. 

Maz had found her a job as a cleaning lady with a convent not too far from the hospital.A month ago, she was wearing jewels and furs and living the life as a duke’s wife.Now she was wearing a simple long dress, an apron, and a kerchief that covered all of her hair.It was a penance of sorts, for her part in Dr. Snoke’s deception.Even though Snoke had used her, she castigated herself every day for the pain she brought to so many.Especially Ben.

Her heart ached for him.She missed him dearly but he was not to be hers. 

The convent itself wasn’t too bad.The nuns were kind and willing to listen.If any of them knew she had been an Anastasia imposter, they never mentioned it.She was often given bread they baked daily and fresh vegetables from their garden that she brought home to share with Maz.

Rey had already made up her mind.She’d been saving her wages for one-way passage to America.Certainly not first class on the fine ocean liner Duchess Holdova had booked for her and Ben.More likely third class on a regular liner.But she hoped for a fresh start in a country where no one knew her, in a land famous for letting people reinvent themselves.She’d thought of perhaps California, where supposedly the weather was lovely year round and dreams came true overnight.They made the motion pictures there in Los Angeles.Or perhaps San Francisco suited her better.She would see for herself. 

It was the only dream she could have now, a way out of her heartbreak and shame. 

Rey sighed and kept on scrubbing the floor.Hurried footsteps interrupted her work.She looked up to see Maz and the Mother Superior approaching her.“Rey!”Maz cried.“You must come with me to hospital immediately!”

“Why?”Rey asked, standing to her feet.“What’s going on?”

“It’s Benjamin Solovich!”Maz cried urgently.“He’s in my hospital right now!He has pneumonia and he…might not make it!”

Rey dropped the scrub brush and turned as white as the apron on her dress.“Oh dear God, no!”she cried.

“I didn’t know he had been there for a few days until I saw the name on a chart outside his room.I went in to see him and he’s delirious.All he’s doing is rasping out your name, calling for you.Come quickly, Rey!”

“Go my child,” the Mother Superior said.“And I will pray for him.”

***

On the way to the hospital, Rey had torn off her kerchief, setting her loose ringlets free as she ran ahead of Maz.Her heart was pounding.Ben was dying!He’d wanted her, he’d needed her!After she ran inside the hospital entrance, she whirled around looking for Maz.“Where is he?Where is his room?”

Maz, huffing and puffing, entered the hospital a moment or two later.“He’s on the second floor.East wing, pneumonia ward.Come, I’ll show you the way.”

Rey anxiously followed the diminutive nurse up the stairs and then down an impossibly long dark hallway.Finally Rey could see Rose, Threepio, Chewie, Artoo, Duchess Holdova, and Uncle Lyuk gathered outside of a doorway.They all looked up at once to see Rey and Maz, shock on their faces.

“Where have you been?”Rose cried.“We’ve been looking all over for you!”

“Thank goodness you’re here.Ben…he’s in bad shape,” Duchess Holdova said, wiping back tears with her handkerchief.“He’s very, very ill.”

Uncle Lyuk, dressed in his hieromonk vestments, nodded.“I came from Paris to pray with him and give him the last rites,” he said solemnly.He sighed.“I feel like I have failed my sister.Losing her only child.”

“Don’t,” Duchess Holdova said, shaking her head and placing her hand on Lyuk’s shoulder.

“He’s been calling out for you constantly,” Rose said to Rey.“Go in and see him.”

“Of course,” Rey said.She took one last look at the gathered group then entered the hospital room, closing the door behind her.

Rey gasped and took a step back at the sight of a sickly, frail Ben Solovich lying on the hospital bed.He looked wan instead of merely fair, his black hair limp around his head, his lips bloodless and cracked.He rasped instead of properly breathing.He was a step above a corpse, a sight that shocked Rey and tore her soul apart.She came close to the bed and placed her hand on his chest.“Ben?Can you hear me?”He opened his half-lidded eyes and stared at her in wonderment and confusion.

“Are you the Angel of Death wearing the guise of my beloved Rey?”Ben whispered weakly.“Do you think I would go more willingly to heaven this way?”

“It’s really me, Ben,” Rey said.“And the Angel of Death isn’t taking you anywhere.Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Ben smiled in a way that looked as though it would crack his face apart but he did it anyway.“It is you, really you.You’ve come back to me.”

“Yes, I have.I missed you so much.”

“I spent days and nights looking all over London for you.I think I might have caught my death that way.”

Guilt surged through Rey.She started sobbing.“Oh, I’m so, so sorry, Ben.For everything!I thought you didn’t want me anymore!I thought you hated me!”

“No…I am sorry for what I said to you that night.”He reached up with a shaky, dry cold hand to wipe the tears from Rey’s face.“I don’t hate you.I still love you and when you left me, I felt like half my soul was taken away.Our connection is beyond blood lines, titles, and arrangements.I couldn’t live without you.”

Rey kissed Ben’s hand.“I feel empty without you too.”She bit her lip and added.“My true memories returned, Ben.All of them.I am a Russian peasant girl who also fled the Bolsheviks.All because of a rumor about me being the illegitimate granddaughter of Rasputin.I’d come for a new life in Britain when bandits robbed me.”

Ben laughed in a way that was more of a wheeze.“Even with your real memories, you still have an incredible dramatic story.”He shook his head.“Listen, Rey.If I miraculously recover…”

“If?No, Ben you are going to recover,” Rey insisted.“You’ll not leave me like Violetta in La Traviata!We’re going to have a better ending than that!I will be here with you day and night, never leaving your side, until you are well.Do you hear me?”Rey wagged a finger at him.

“All right, when I miraculously recover…will you remain my wife?”

“What about the scandal?Is our marriage even legitimate?” 

“It’s like what I told you that night when we met at my godmother’s party.The old ways are gone.This is a new time.A time when a man like myself can follow his heart.And when a woman can become whatever she wishes to be.So, will you?”

Rey smiled for the first time in weeks.“Yes, Ben.Always and forever your wife.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost a wrap. Just the epilogue on Friday and that's it!
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has taken time to follow the adventures of Rey and Ben in this universe. I'm not a popular Reylo with a big following. So every hit, every comment, and every kudos are appreciated. So is every recommendation.
> 
> See ya in a couple of days!


	22. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we are at the finish line...

The Duke and Duchess Solovich stood on the deck of the HMS Supremacy as it approached New York City.They marveled at the concrete peaks on the horizon.“The buildings are so tall we can see them from here,” Ben said.

“Those people on the top floors must feel like they’re flying,” Rey said.She held on to her hat in the strong sea breeze.It had been a lovely five day voyage across the Atlantic with fair weather the entire time.The Supremacy was the most splendid ocean liner in the fleet, with beautiful salons, delicious food, and plenty to do.Of course, the journey had been a second honeymoon for her and Ben, a renewal of their love for each other after he had recovered from pneumonia.The doctors had marveled at his restoration to good health in record time.They thought that perhaps the healthy soups Rey made for him helped but Ben credited having the love of his life back beside him. 

After Ben had returned home from hospital, Rey moved back in the Mayfair house and placed the ring given to her back on her finger.Before departing for Paris, Uncle Lyuk performed a second private ceremony at the Dormition chapel, this time Ben pledging to take Rey DeNiima as his wife.The couple enjoyed a cozy fall and winter, celebrating their first Christmas together as spouses and ringing in 1922.

Dr. Snoke fled London and went into hiding not long after the scandal broke in the Daily Standard.There were rumors he was in Greece or Egypt but Rey didn’t care as long as she never saw him again.

Now it was June 1922 and at last they were on the voyage given to them as a wedding present.Rey wasn’t certain if there was going to be a baby on the way by the time they return to London but it wouldn’t be for a lack of trying.There wasn’t a lot of venturing outside of their first class cabin.

“Oh my God, look, it’s the Statue of Liberty!”Rey cried, jumping up and down like an excited child, pointing in the direction of the statue just now visible from the deck.“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

Ben grinned, looking up and down at Rey.“Yes, she is.” 

Rey playfully smacked at Ben’s arm but he seized her around her waist and pulled her body up against his.“Ya lyublyu tebya,” he said before capturing her lips in a warm, passionate kiss.Rey let herself feel his love for her, sending her love for him back through her own kiss.

***

_The question of whether or not Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova survived the mass murder of her family and somehow made it into exile was one of the biggest mysteries of the 20th century.This was in spite of accounts by people who claim to have witnessed or took part in the executions, stating Anastasia had been shot several times (her corset full of family jewels served as a bulletproof vest) then killed with a bayonet.The Romanovs’ bodies had not been recovered, making it easy for a cavalcade of imposters to announce they were one of the Romanovs’ long-lost children._

_Anna Anderson was the most famous of the imposters and while many of those who knew the Romanov family or were distant relatives didn’t think she was Anastasia, some did.Or at least wanted to believe it was her.A Tatiana Melnik—daughter of the former royal physician—had explained away Anderson’s inconsistencies with Anastasia and even coached her on details of life with the Imperial family a la Snoke in this story.Anderson stayed for a time with a Russian princess in New York and with a Park Avenue socialite because they were convinced it was Anastasia or it might be her.Anderson went in and out of mental institutions for years in both the U.S. and Germany, emigrated for good to the U.S. in the late ‘60s, and passed away in Charlottesville, VA in 1984._

_The Romanov mass grave was found sometime in the late ‘70s-early ‘80s but the location was kept a secret until after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.Five of the seven family members were accounted for; one young female and the Romanovs’ only son Alexei were still missing.Anna Anderson’s DNA was tested with that of distant family members—including the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband—and discovered to not be a match._

_In 2007, another site was found with the remains of Alexei and a young female Romanov, either Anastasia or Maria.This means that the entire Romanov family was executed in 1918 and no one survived._

_The Russian Orthodox Church has declared the Romanovs “passion bearers,” martyrs of the faith.The remains of the five Romanov family members uncovered in 1991 were interred at a cathedral in St. Petersburg.Interestingly enough, the church has not yet buried the last two found in 2007 because it wants further testing, largely to clarify if the young female was Anastasia or her sister Maria._

_There are still people claiming to be descendants of the Romanov family to this day._

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all who have read, commented, subscribed, and hit the kudos button! I hope all of you enjoyed "The Lost Princess." I don't write Star Wars alternate universes that don't take place in the GFFA and I've been writing fan fic for 28 years. After outlining and drafting several concepts that never gelled, this was the first one I actually wrote out and completed. Maybe you will see more. Soon. In the meantime, feel free to read my other Reylo stuff!


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